Review: All-Star Cast Struggles to Keep ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ on Track

“MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS” – 2½ stars – Kenneth Branagh, Penelope Cruz, Johnny Depp, Judi Dench, Willem Dafoe, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley, Josh Gad; PG-13 (violence and thematic elements); in general release “There is right. There is wrong. There is nothing in between.” Hercule Poirot’s clear-cut moral declaration sets the tone for…

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14th District State Senate Special Election Candidate Shane Reeves ‘Won’t Be Available at Least the Next Couple Weeks’ for Tennessee Star Interview

Matt Herriman, campaign manager for Shane Reeves’ State Senate campaign in the special election in the 14th State Senate District to replace State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), tells The Tennessee Star that Reeves “probably won’t be available at least the next couple of weeks” for an in person interview with The Star “as our schedule is packed as we jumpstart this campaign.” You can read Herriman’s complete response to our request for an interview here: Thank you for your email request to meet with Shane. Unfortunately, he probably won’t be available at least the next couple of weeks as our schedule is packed as we jumpstart this campaign. He will be on the road all across the district. If you’d like, for deadline purposes, to send your questions to me, I’ll get them in front of Shane and back to you as soon as I can. You are also welcome to use any photo from the website for your story. Thanks again for reaching out. The 14th State Senate District covers parts of Rutherford County, all of Moore, Marshall, and Bedford Counties, and the northern two-thirds of Lincoln County. The Republican primary is expected to be held in January, with…

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Republican Senate Candidate Roy Moore Denies Decades-Old Allegations of Misconduct, Will Remain on the Ballot

Roy Moore, the Republican nominee who polls show ahead in next month’s Senate special election in Alabama, is facing calls for him to step aside after The Washington Post reported Thursday that he initiated sexual contact with a 14-year-old-girl when he was 32 and also sexually harassed three other women aged between 16 and 18. “If…

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Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Creates Transit and Affordability Taskforce

Nashville Mayor Megan Barry has created a Transit and Affordability Taskforce to try to win support for her $5.2 billion mass transit plan among residents and business owners worried being displaced. The taskforce will be co-chaired by former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and Davidson County Clerk Brenda Wynn. A Democrat, Purcell served five terms in the state House of Representatives before serving as mayor from 1999 to 2007. “Housing and transportation are inseparable issues, as together they represent the highest cost-burdens for most working families,” Barry, also a Democrat, said in a news release Tuesday. “If Nashville voters adopt Metro’s Transportation Solution in May of next year, we’ll face a tremendous opportunity to create affordable housing and commercial space along our major pikes and corridors so that Nashville’s future is more equitable. I’m grateful to all the taskforce members for their willingness to help identify and shape policies to ensure our community’s growth and prosperity is inclusive of all.” Barry’s mass transit proposal has prompted criticism across the Nashville area from various groups, including the Nashville Tea Party and the People’s Alliance for Transit, Housing and Employment (PATHE). The latter group is particularly concerned about the issues to be addressed by the…

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State of Arkansas Takes Over Small Rural School District After Finding Audit Violations

The state of Arkansas has taken over a small rural school district after finding audit violations and unallowable expenses, reports WREG News Channel 3. A review of the Earle School District by the Arkansas Department of Education found almost $2 million in misuse of state and federal funds starting in the 2015-16 school year and continuing into the current school year. District Superintendent Rickey Nicks has resigned and the state has named a replacement who has been affiliated with the school improvement unit of the Arkansas Department of Education. School board members will remain in place to serve as advisers. Last month, the state classified the school district as being in fiscal distress and the district did not appeal. Violations included poor fiscal management procedures, inaccurate fund balances, nonpayment to vendors, outstanding debts, issues with payroll and failure to follow state guidance on correcting problems. Apart from the fiscal issues, the state found violations involving student transcripts, teacher assignments and special education teacher certification. Located 28 miles west of Memphis in Crittenden County, the Earle School District has only one elementary school and one high school. In an application for federal grants for the high school several years ago, the district noted…

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Chinese Smitten with President Trump’s Mandarin-Speaking Granddaughter, Arabella

While media coverage of Donald Trump’s meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping Thursday focused on trade and North Korea, it was the wide-eyed crooning of the US leader’s granddaughter that stole Chinese netizens’ hearts. In a video that Trump showed Xi during their stroll through the historic Forbidden City Wednesday, his granddaughter, Arabella Kushner, greets “Grandpa…

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Commentary: The Hidden Scandal More Disastrous Than ‘Uranium One’

by CHQ Staff   Our friends at the Center for Security Policy have issued one of their “occasional papers” on a scandal that we think is worse and more threatening to national security than the Uranium One scandal through which Hillary Clinton and Obama transferred 20 percent of America’s uranium to Russia. What could be worse than giving 20 percent of our uranium to Russia one might ask? How about giving a 35-year lease to one of America’s largest container ports, located just minutes from the Kennedy Space Center, to a Middle Eastern company with ties to Iran, North Korea, Russia and the evil genius behind Saddam Hussein’s nuclear weapons program? But that’s exactly what the same players involved in the Uranium One deal did when they leased the cargo container operations at Port Canaveral, Florida after two years of secret talks with the Obama administration. Now the Center for Security Policy’s dogged and fearless team of Alan Jones and Mary Fanning have revealed exactly what could go wrong, with potentially catastrophic consequences for U.S. national security. Jones and Fanning originally broke the news that the family of Iraqi nuclear physicist Dr. Jafar Dhia Jafar – known as Saddam Hussein’s…

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EXCLUSIVE Interview: Joe Carr Standing Firm on Conservative Record in 14th District State Senate Special Election

MURFREESBORO, Tennessee — Joe Carr held forth on a range of issues Thursday at Slick Pig BBQ on East Main, a favorite hangout where he feels right at home. In an interview with The Tennessee Star, the conservative State Senate candidate energetically answered questions on immigration, health care and education. Carr announced Monday that he will run for the State Senate seat being vacated by Sen. Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville), who late last week was appointed as state director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Tracy’s resignation means there will be a special election within the next few months. Murfreesboro businessman Shane Reeves also announced this week that he will run for the seat as a Republican. Carr served in the Tennessee State House of Representatives from 2008 to 2014, lost the 2014 Republican U.S. Senate primary to Lamar Alexander, and also lost the 2016 Republican 6th Congressional District primary to Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06). He lives on his family farm in Lascassas and is semi-retired after having founded and sold two engineering firms. In recent years, he has become known for his T-Bones and Politics fundraisers featuring big-name guest speakers. Viewed as a solid conservative by his admirers, Carr is against the…

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Rep. Steve King Commentary: The Day the Berlin Wall Came Crumbling Down

What were you watching on Thursday, Nov. 9, 1989? Twenty-eight years ago, Thursday nights were dominated by NBC’s “Must See TV” lineup of “The Cosby Show,” “A Different World” and “Cheers.” I remember something else, though. For me, Nov. 9, 1989, wasn’t about watching sitcoms I enjoyed. It was about watching the most significant political moment…

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