The 2024 presidential election has grabbed most of the headlines recently, but the Senate races are taking shape under the radar. Here is a preview of the 10 most likely to flip.
Read the full storyTag: Maryland
As Local Opposition to Wind and Solar Projects Grows, Some States Seek to Override Local Decisions
Legislatures in 23 states and the District of Columbia have passed some form of a carbon-free electricity goal, but many of these measures do not address the ancillary costs of making it happen.
Read the full storyAfter a Decade of Deliberation, Federal Government Chooses Maryland over Virginia as New FBI HQ
The federal government has selected Greenbelt, Maryland, as the location for its new FBI headquarters concluding a search process that began more than 10 years ago.
Congress authorized the General Services Administration to start looking for a new site for the FBI headquarters in 2012 after a decade of complaints about the security, technological capabilities, “deteriorating infrastructure” and other issues with the current facility, located in Washington, D.C. The GSA narrowed its search to Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia, in 2014, and state lawmakers and officials from both states have actively pursued the selection of their state throughout.
Read the full storySchools Spent Millions in COVID Bucks on Educational Software That Was Barely Used
School districts across the country spent millions in federal relief funds on educational software intended to mitigate pandemic learning loss, but in many cases, much of the technology wasn’t used, according to The Associated Press.
Schools received billions in COVID-19 relief funds from Congress, and tech companies engaged in aggressive marketing to get districts to purchase their products. School districts used these federal funds to enter multi-million dollar contracts for software licenses that often went unused by students, the AP reported. Moreover, some products were found to not be particularly effective.
Read the full storyCommentary: The FBI HQ Relocation Proposal Is a Fraud
As of now, House Republicans have removed funds from the FY 2024 budget for the controversial $3.5 billion proposed relocation of the FBI’s Washington, D.C. headquarters to a new complex at one of three locations in the D.C. suburbs of Virginia or Maryland.
Some House Republicans want to keep the FBI headquarters at its current location and view the relocation proposal as unwise and wasteful. Others want to downsize, defund or eliminate the Bureau – and not to reward it with a sprawling new headquarters complex – because they believe it has been weaponized against conservatives.
Read the full story10 States to Sue EPA for Not Updating Wood Stove Emission Standards
Ten states and a regional government clean air agency plan on suing the Environmental Protection Agency for allegedly failing to update emission standards for wood-burning stoves, allowing high-emission stoves to still be sold.
The mostly Democratic state attorneys general filed a notice of intent to sue the EPA last week.
Read the full storyDrug Manufacturers, CVS, Walgreens Settle Another Opioid Lawsuit with 22 States for $17.3 Billion
Thirteen attorneys general announced settlements with opioid manufacturers Teva and Allergan on Friday, while 18 states settled with CVS and Walgreens for a total of $17.3 billion.
The attorneys general said settlement funds will start flowing into state and local governments by the end of this year and will be used for prevention and treatment of opioid addiction.
Read the full storyVirginia’s Gov. Youngkin Latest to Scrap College Degree Requirement for Most State Jobs
Virginia axed bachelor’s degree requirements for 90 percent of state jobs this week, following a precedent adopted by several states with bipartisan support over the last year.
“Governor Glenn Youngkin announced today a landmark change in how state agencies will recruit and compete for talent by eliminating degree requirements, preferences or both for almost 90% of state classified positions,” according to a Tuesday news release from the governor’s office.
Read the full storyNRA Exec, Trump Donor Says Daughter and Granddaughter Died in Plane Crash that Sparked DC Sonic Boom
An NRA executive and major Republican donor said her daughter and granddaughter were killed alongside the 2-year-old girl’s nanny and the pilot of a private Cessna plane that crashed in Virginia and sparked a sonic boom from responding military jets.
“My family is gone, my daughter and granddaughter,” Barbara Rumpel posted on Facebook Sunday evening.
Read the full storyProgressive Activists, Officials Work to Extend Voting to Prisoners, Noncitizens to Expand Base
by Fred Lucas Inmate voting, noncitizen voting, and even mandatory voting have been among the initiatives pushed in Democrat-led jurisdictions this year to expand their voting base. “The Left wants to normalize voter classes that nobody took seriously a generation ago—criminals, foreigners—to help them win elections,” J. Christian Adams, president of the Public Interest Legal Foundation, an election integrity group, told The Daily Signal. As I noted in my book “The Myth of Voter Suppression,” Democrats long have sought to change election laws to gain a political advantage. The nation’s capital, the District of Columbia, adopted noncitizen voting this year for local elections such as mayor and city council. Oregon lawmakers are pushing prisoner voting, while blue states on the West and East coasts are considering mandatory voting. “The Left talks big about ‘helping everyone vote,’ but for at least the past decade, they’ve focused all their efforts on only helping their preferred voters cast a ballot,” Hayden Ludwig, director of policy research at Restoration of America, a conservative group, told The Daily Signal in an email. “Everything from lowering the voting age to vote-by-mail and felon voting rights is geared to drive turnout among the ‘New American Majority,’ their term for the demographic groups Democrats are…
Read the full storyMaryland Democrat Governor Signs Bills Enshrining Abortion and Protecting Transgender Drug and Surgical Treatments for Minors
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) signed bills Wednesday that would enshrine abortion rights in state law and protect transgender medical treatments for minors, including puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and transgender surgeries.
Moore said in a statement the new laws have “further strengthened our leave no one behind vision by protecting individual freedoms,” especially “solidifying reproductive rights,” and “expanding access to healthcare.”
Read the full storyState Senate DFLers Vote to Abandon Electoral College for National Popular Vote
DFLers in the Minnesota House and Senate voted this month to transform American presidential elections by abandoning the Electoral College.
The Senate voted along party lines, 34-33, on Wednesday to pass an elections omnibus policy bill that includes a provision that would have Minnesota award its presidential electors to the candidate with the most votes nationwide. Republicans unsuccessfully tried to remove that language from the bill.
Read the full storyAdvocates Warn of ‘Desperate’ Movement to Undermine the Electoral College
An organization’s efforts to circumvent states’ rights are “getting desperate” as they try new ways to push their interstate compact through state legislatures, two pro-Electoral College advocacy groups told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The National Popular Vote (NPV) is a group initiative to reform the U.S.’ two-step, Electoral College system by ensuring that the candidate with the most popular votes nationwide becomes the president. Now that NPV has enacted its interstate compact in all of the “easy,” bluer states as a standalone bill, it is getting creative to force the law through in swing states like Minnesota, Nevada, Michigan and Maine, Trent England of Save Our States and Jasper Hendricks of Democrats for the Electoral College told the DCNF.
Read the full storySupreme Court Declines to Hear Energy Companies’ Appeals to Climate Damage Lawsuits
The Supreme Court declined Monday to hear local governments’ climate damage lawsuits against energy companies on Monday.
The companies, who localities want to hold financially accountable for burning fossil fuels they allege damaged the climate, appealed their cases to the Supreme Court, asking it to weigh in on whether the claims should be heard in state or federal courts. The Court’s decision benefits the environmental activists behind the lawsuits, who prefer the matter to play out in state courts, where judges may be more inclined to rule in their favor, experts previously told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Read the full storyWalter Reed Military Hospital Reviewing Contract for Chaplain Services After Ordering Off Catholic Priests
The Pentagon’s health agency said Tuesday it is reviewing a contract for chaplaincy services at Walter Reed Military Medical Center after facing backlash for sending a “cease and desist” letter to the Franciscan Friars at Holy Name College Friary in Silver Spring, Maryland, according to the Washington Times.
The Defense Health Agency (DHA) terminated a 20-year relationship with the Friars on March 31, just before Easter Sunday, instead awarding a contract to a private firm that Catholic authorities say cannot provide chaplain services according to their religious tradition, because chaplains must work for a bishop, not a private company. Congressional Republicans sent a letter Tuesday to DHA calling the decision “unconscionable,” prompting a promise from Walter Reed to reevaluate the contract, the Washington Times reported.
Read the full storyFiscal Watchdog Warns Against Wealth Tax in Connecticut and Five other States
New York is being cautioned against raising taxes on its top earners as lawmakers consider plans to drum up more money from the state’s wealthiest.
A group of progressive Democratic state lawmakers have proposed a raft of tax reforms targeting New York’s ultra-rich that includes adding new tax brackets for the highest earners, increasing corporate taxes for the top companies, and setting wealth taxes on capital gains and inheritances.
Backers of the Invest in New York proposal say the package of reforms would drum up another $40 million to $50 million for the state’s education, housing and transportation needs.
Read the full storyPennsylvania Governor Drops Four-Year Degree Requirements for Government Jobs
Pennsylvania’s new Governor Josh Shapiro issued an executive order last week that removes four-year degrees from 92 percent of government jobs.
Shapiro stated that this initiative will open approximately 65,000 jobs in the state to those without college education, he announced on Twitter.
The Shapiro Administration is “not wasting a second.”
Read the full storyEighteen State AGs Voicing Support for New York Gun-Industry Liability Law
A coalition of 18 state attorneys general, all Democrats, on Wednesday submitted an amicus brief in support of New York’s firearms industry accountability law.
In the brief, the coalition led by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul asserts the law’s legitimacy to protect residents public health, safety and welfare.
Read the full storyThe Country’s Biggest School Districts Are Explicitly Hiding Kids’ Gender Transitions from Parents
The nation’s largest school districts are implementing policies that require educators to keep students’ gender transitions a secret from their parents.
Los Angeles Unified School District, Chicago Public Schools and New York Public Schools are promoting practices and policies that hide a student’s transgender status from their parents. The policies have become a cultural flashpoint amid a battle over the role parents should play in their child’s education, and the extent to which gender ideology has infiltrated K-12 classrooms.
Read the full storyTennessee, Georgia, and Virginia Among 18 States Banning Social Media App TikTok from State Devices
Following South Dakota GOP Gov. Kristi Noem’s lead, nearly half of U.S. states have put restrictions on or banned the use of Chinese-based social media app TikTok.
At least 19 states have banned TikTok on government-issued devices – Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utha, Virginia and West Virginia.
Read the full storyTransgender Psychologist: ‘Serious Error in Judgment’ for Schools to Hide Gender Transitions from Parents
A transgender psychologist from Berkeley, California, has filed an amicus brief against a Maryland school district that allegedly hid children’s gender transitions from parents.
“It’s well established that one of the most important factors in helping gender-questioning children is family support,” the psychologist, who now uses the name Erica Anderson, Ph.D., told Fox News Digital. “So to deliberately deprive a child of support at a time potentially when they most need it is, I think, a serious error in judgment.”
Read the full storyNavy Veteran Founds Classical Catholic School to Counter Woke Education
A Navy veteran who rejects the secularist and woke education agendas prevalent in public schools and some parochial schools launched a classical Catholic school in Maryland.
“We’re a military family,” Lt. Commander Ali Ghaffari, founder of Divine Mercy Academy in Pasadena, Maryland, explained to Fox & Friends Weekend Sunday. “We’ve traveled around the country seeing lots of schools, and we settled at the Naval Academy, that was my last tour.
Read the full storyGoogle Agrees to Nearly $400 Million Settlement with 40 States over Location-Tracking Probe
Google agreed to a $391.5 million settlement with 40 states after an investigation found that the tech giant participated in questionable location-tracking practices, state attorneys general announced Monday.
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong called it a “historic win for consumers.”
Read the full storyAnalyst: ‘Code Red’ Diesel Supply Shortage in Southeastern States ‘Could Become More of a Challenge’
A fuel supply and logistics company is warning about diesel shortages across the Southeast United States, issuing an alert on Friday about “rapidly devolving” conditions in North Carolina and six other states.
Mansfield moved to “Alert Level 4” to address market volatility, and “Code Red” in the Southeast, which means the company is now requesting 72 hour notice for deliveries when possible “to ensure fuel and freight can be secured at economical levels.”
Read the full storyConnecticut’s AG Tong Among 20 State Attorneys General Supporting National Gun Control Rule
A coalition of 20 state attorneys general, all Democrats, are backing a federal gun rule in court.
The Final Rule, as the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives named it, would enable law enforcement officials to trace any homemade guns used in crimes. In addition, the rule limits trafficking the weaponry.
Read the full storyMaryland Considers Creating Constitutional Right to Abortion
Maryland state House Democrats proposed a constitutional amendment Monday enshrining abortion rights within the state, the Associated Press reported.
The proposal was introduced by state House Speaker Adrienne Jones, who said the Supreme Court “has allowed some of the most restricting abortion legislation we’ve seen in a generation,” according to the AP.
Jones appeared to refer to the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Texas Heartbeat Act, which bans most abortions after six weeks, to stay in effect while the court considers whether the law is constitutional.
Read the full storyAnalysis: The Top Governor’s Races to Watch This Year
Democrats four years ago rode a blue wave to governors’ mansions across the country, flipping Republican-held seats in the Midwest, Northeast and West alike.
Now, however, many of those governors face Republican challengers amid a political environment that looks potentially promising for the GOP, meaning that contentious races may lie ahead in some of the nation’s most pivotal battleground states. Republicans have already had two strong showings in states that lean Democratic, flipping the governor’s seat in Virginia and coming surprisingly close in New Jersey, a state that voted for President Joe Biden by 16 points in 2020.
Governors in less competitive states are also facing primary challengers from the left and right, making for multiple bitter, closely-followed primaries between candidates from different wings of the same party.
Read the full storyOver Half of U.S. States Will Increase Their Minimum Wage in 2022
Over half of the states in the U.S. will institute a minimum wage increase in 2022, according to a report.
A total of 26 states will raise the minimum wage in 2022, with 22 of the states starting the pay hikes on Jan. 1, accordingto payroll experts at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S.
“These minimum wage increases indicate moves toward ensuring a living wage for people across the country,” Deirdre Kennedy, senior payroll analyst at Wolters Kluwer, said in the report. “In addition to previously approved incremental increases, the change in presidential administration earlier this year and the ongoing coronavirus pandemic have also contributed to these changes.”
Read the full storyCommentary: Spy Couple Follow in the Grand Tradition of Treasonous Leftist Couples
In the wake of the recent arrest of Maryland nuclear engineer, Jonathan Toebbe, and his wife, Diana Toebbe on charges they tried to sell classified nuclear warship information to a foreign country, the mainstream media has focused on the “mystery” of how this could happen. But very little media coverage has focused on their progressive political background—the most likely key to their misdeeds.
In fact, strangely enough, husband and wife traitor teams are often linked to left-wing politics. Why hasn’t the establishment media focused on this tie?
Read the full storyMarine Jim Walden Describes the Death of His Son at the Hands of an Illegal Alien
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Marine Jim Walden and the father of deceased Marine Jimmy Walden who was killed by an illegal alien.
Read the full storyData Shows Increased Homicides in Six Major Cities Across the Country
The number of homicides in six major cities across the country has increased compared to last year, disproportionately affecting black people, according to crime data.
Black people have represented a massive share of murder victims in six major cities through the first six months of 2021 compared to last year, which itself saw a large crime surge, according to data analyzed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The DCNF analyzed both police department data and homicide reports compiled by local news outlets to determine how black people have been victimized in the wake of the 2020 crime spike.
“We are seeing an uptick in violent crime across the country, specifically gun violence,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava told The New York Times earlier this month.
Read the full storyVirginia Opts Not to Join Climate Initiative, for Now
Virginia was not in the first slate of states to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative, which proponents argue will help fight climate change and opponents assert will increase costs for households.
Under the multistate agreement, a state would agree to establish a cap on diesel and gasoline sales and require wholesales to purchase carbon allowances to go over that limit, which effectively creates a carbon tax. The initiative has received support from many Democrats and opposition from Republicans.
Read the full storyEx-Baltimore Mayoral Aide Gets Prison in Book Sales Scam
A former aide who helped ex-Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh fraudulently sell her self-published children’s books to nonprofits was sentenced Friday to more than two years in federal prison.
Gary Brown Jr. apologized for his actions and expressed regret for bringing shame to his family and friends before U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow sentenced him to 27 months.
In February, Chasanow sentenced Pugh, a Democrat, to three years in prison for her role in the scheme to profit from sales of her “Healthy Holly” books.
Read the full storyJudge Theodore Chuang Rules Women Can Get Abortion Pill Without Doctor Visit
A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an Obama appointee based in Maryland, concluded that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the circumstances of the pandemic.
Read the full storyLockdown Prevents Akron Barber with Stage 4 Cancer from Reaching Her Doctor at World-Renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine
Ohio’s prolonged lockdown is literally a life-and-death matter for an Akron barber battling a rare form of cancer as she cannot reach world-renowned Johns Hopkins Medicine for treatment.
Peggy Reed is a barber with Stage 4 Squamous Cell cancer of the nasal cavity. Much of her medical story is told on her GoFundMe page here.
Reed missed her appointment at Johns Hopkins on March 26 to see a specialist. Ohio’s stay at home order means no out of state travel is allowed. Maryland also has a stay at home order.
Read the full storyMaryland Says It Will Provide ‘Timely Testing Number Data’
The Maryland Department of Health told The Tennessee Star earlier this week that it is working to provide “timely testing number data.”
Read the full storyConnecticut Relents, Orders All Labs to Report Negative Coronavirus Test Results, Leaving Ohio One of Two States to Fail to Comply With Federal Law
The State of Connecticut has gotten on board with the CDC to report negative test results to help the agency better track the spread of the coronavirus, leaving Ohio and Maryland as the only holdouts in complying with federal law.
Read the full storyFormer Baltimore Mayor Sentenced to Three Years in Federal Prison
Former Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh was sentenced to three years in federal prison Thursday after she pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and tax evasion related money she received from sales of her self-published children’s book series.
Read the full storyMaryland Legislator Wants to Steer Low-Income Housing to Affluent Suburban Neighborhoods
A Maryland legislator wants to identify affluent suburban neighborhoods and target them for low-income, high-density housing.
Read the full storyNorthrop Grumman Donates Jet to Help School Launch Maryland’s First High School Aviation Program
Northrop Grumman donated a Sabreliner jet to a Maryland high school this week to help it launch the state’s first high school aviation program.
Read the full storyCommentary: Traditional Values Shouldn’t Exempt Schools From State Voucher Programs
Officials in the state of Maryland have banned a school from their voucher program due to its faith-based views on gay marriage and transgenderism. The Baltimore Sun reported that Bethel Christian Academy responded to the ban with a lawsuit contending officials violated its religious freedom.
The case will now be heard in federal court.
Read the full storySchool Districts Push A Return To Busing, Despite Their Own Data Suggesting It Won’t Reduce The ‘Achievement Gap’
Multiple school districts across the country are considering busing-style programs to distribute impoverished students equally, but data suggest that such proposals would not reduce an achievement gap between poor students and their wealthier schoolmates, analyses by the Daily Caller News Foundation and others found.
Read the full storySanctuary County Rolls Back Its Anti-ICE Policy Following String Of Illegal Aliens Charged With Rape
Following months of national media coverage over the handling of illegal aliens in his custody, Montgomery County, Maryland, Executive Marc Elrich has somewhat reversed a sanctuary policy he signed into law.
Read the full storyMaryland Rep. Elijah Cummings Dead at 68
Rep. Elijah Cummings died at 68 at an affiliate of Johns Hopkins Hospital early Thursday as a result of complications from longstanding health challenges, his office said in a statement.
Read the full storyAmerican Inventor Series: Benjamin Banneker, a Black Tobacco Farmer Who Surveyed the Nation’s Capital
Benjamin Banneker was much more than just an inventor. As a mathematician, astronomer, landowning farmer, writer, and surveyor, Banneker was one of the most influential African Americans alive during America’s infancy.
Read the full storyMaryland to Implement LGBTQ Content in Public Schools’ Curricula
Maryland public school history teachers will add LGBTQ content to high school curricula during the coming years, a lawmaker said.
Read the full storyDuring the Tennessee Star Report, Steve Gill Talks About the ‘DemocRats‘ and Rat Infested Baltimore
On Monday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – host Steve Gill talked about the rat epidemic plaguing Baltimore, Maryland and how Donald Trump’s assessment of the city was seen as racist.
Read the full storyICE Is Considering Opening a Detention Center in Maryland
by Matt M. Miller U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is considering opening a detention facility capable of containing hundreds of illegal migrants in Maryland. ICE posted an advertisement on a federal contracts forum in April that it was surveying potential locations for the facility near Baltimore, the Baltimore Sun reported. The facility reportedly would have the capacity to hold 600-800 detainees, according to the Baltimore Sun. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is looking for more detention facility space within 50-miles of its Baltimore field office.https://t.co/xsxxrVO88g — The Baltimore Sun (@baltimoresun) July 18, 2019 The new facility would become the fourth detention facility in the state of Maryland, including centers in Frederick, Howard and Worcester counties. ICE is “continually reviewing its detention requirements and exploring acquisition options that will afford ICE the operational flexibility needed to house the full range of detainees in the agency’s custody,” ICE spokeswoman Justine Whelan said in a statement. The agency will consider the response to the detention facility advertisement to gage whether it would like to move forward with the project, Whelan explained. ICE officials posted the advertisement a few months after the end of a contract with Anne Arundel County to detain…
Read the full storySupreme Court Hears Gerrymandering Case That Could Extensively Redraw the Ohio Electoral Map
The United States Supreme Court began hearing oral arguments Tuesday on a pair of cases that could lead to the Ohio electoral map being completely redrawn. The two cases, Rucho v. Common Cause and Lamone v. Benisekm, could both set precedents that could supersede a similar Ohio case making its way to the Supreme Court. On August 5, 2016, Common Cause, the North Carolina Democratic Party, and a group of voters filed a complaint against Robert A. Rucho “in his official capacity as Chairman of the North Carolina Senate Redistricting Committee,” and several other key members who presided over the drawing of the 2016 North Carolina congressional map. The complaint alleged that the map is an: unconstitutional partisan gerrymander that violates the First Amendment (Count I), the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment (Count II), and Article I, section 2 of the Constitution of the United States (Count III), and also to declare that in adopting the 2016 Plan the legislature exceeded the authority granted by Article I, section 4 of the U.S. Constitution, which provides that state legislatures “determine the times, places and manner of election” of members of the U.S. House of Representatives (Count IV). They also alleged that Democratic votes…
Read the full storyJoe Biden’s Troubling History on Racial Rhetoric Looms as He Weighs 2020 Presidential Bid
by Peter Hasson Former Vice President Joe Biden, who is reportedly on the verge of launching his third presidential campaign, has a history of making racially charged remarks. Biden’s history of questionable remarks on race looms as he enters a crowded Democratic primary where racial issues have taken center stage. 1975: Biden Says De-Segregation ‘Codifies The Concept That A Black Is Inferior To A White’ Biden expressed a separate-but-equal view toward racial desegregation efforts in schools during a 1975 interview with U.S. News & World Report reviewed by The Daily Caller News Foundation. When asked if he believed that busing was doing more harm than good, Biden, who at the time was a senator for Delaware, replied, “Absolutely. Examining the concepts we used to rationalize busing six or seven years ago, they now seem to me to be profoundly racist.” “Busing is harmful for several reasons,” Biden added. First, busing, in effect, codifies the concept that a black is inferior to a white by saying, “The only way you can cut it educationally is if you’re with whites.” I think that’s a horrible concept. It implies that blacks have no reason to be proud of their inheritance and their own culture. Second, busing violates…
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