Last week, officials with Toyota and Mazda announced that they have eliminated the state-funded Memphis regional “Megasite” from consideration for a new automobile manufacturing facility. The gubernatorial campaign of Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06) quickly issued a statement stating “Losing Toyota-Mazda is a tremendous, inexcusable loss for our state.” You can read the full statement here: The Diane Black for Governor campaign today reacted to the disappointing news that Toyota-Mazda has eliminated the Memphis Regional Megasite (formerly known as the West Tennessee Megasite) from consideration for its new plant. Tennessee’s Economic and Community Development Commissioner confirmed that the megasite was removed from consideration because it was not “shovel-ready.” The state purchased the land for the megasite in 2009 and taxpayers have invested $140 million thus far in preparing it for a tenant. Diane Black for Governor Communications Director, Chris Hartline, made the following statement: “Some may campaign on making Tennessee a business-friendly state, but they are overlooking their failures to make Tennessee a business-ready state. The state has had years to make the Memphis Regional Megasite ‘shovel ready,’ and has come up short once again. Losing Toyota-Mazda is a tremendous, inexcusable loss for our state. We have to take action and…
Read the full storyYear: 2017
Commentary: Republicans Hold the Key to Their Own Success in the 2018 Midterm Elections
by Jeffrey A. Rendall Now that 2017’s few elections and reflections on the one-year anniversary of President Donald Trump’s triumphant win in the 2016 election are in the rearview mirror it’s time to look ahead to the all-important midterm elections of 2018. Midterms are always a big deal because they portend to reveal how well – or how poorly – a president is received by a wide cross-section of the American public. Ahead of next year’s vote media pundits are doing what media pundits always do, namely find any way feasible to describe the Republican Party as being in trouble. Their routines are predictable: wake up in the morning, put on a pot of coffee, take their anti-depressant medication, check Trump’s twitter feed, organize their angry thoughts and then scribble a story bashing Trump and predicting doom. In Trump’s case it’s been happening for well over two years now so liberal journalists have the shtick down cold. The only problem is their predictions rarely come true. Other commentators actually look at the facts and try to draw some reasoned conclusions. David M. Drucker and W. James Antle III of the Washington Examiner wrote earlier this week, “One year out from the midterm congressional…
Read the full storyAlabama Senate Race a Toss-Up, New Poll Finds
WASHINGTON — Roy Moore, the Republican candidate for Senate in Alabama, lost his lead in the race after allegations that he had sexual contact with teenagers years ago, and the election is now a toss-up, a new poll indicated Sunday. Moore trails Democratic candidate Doug Jones 46 percent to 42 percent among Alabama voters, a lead…
Read the full storyEmirates Orders 40 Boeing 787 Dreamliners for $15.1 Billion
Emirates Airlines on Sunday agreed to purchase 40 Boeing 787-10 Dreamliners for $15.1 billion at list price, its chief Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al-Maktoum said. Emirates is already the world’s largest client for Boeing’s 777, with 165 jets and another 164 on firm order. Sheikh Ahmed said the deal raises total outstanding orders from US aerospace…
Read the full storyIslamic State Thriving in Somalia: UN Report
An Islamic State faction in Somalia has grown significantly over the past year, carrying out attacks in Puntland and receiving some funding from Syria and Iraq, a report by UN sanctions monitors said Friday. The faction loyal to Sheikh Abdulqader Mumin was targeted by US drone strikes last week in the first US operation targeting IS…
Read the full storyPrivacy Fears Over Artificial Intelligence as Crimestopper
Police in Delaware are poised to deploy “smart” cameras in cruisers to help authorities detect a vehicle carrying a fugitive, missing child or straying senior. The video feeds will be analyzed using artificial intelligence to identify vehicles by license plate or other features and “give an extra set of eyes” to officers…
Read the full storyTrump Offers to Mediate in South China Sea Row
President Donald Trump offered Sunday to mediate in a territorial dispute over the resource-rich South China Sea, after years of Chinese island-building in the contested waters. Trump’s surprise proposal to insert himself into the decades-long row risked a backlash from China, which has repeatedly said the United States has no role to play in what…
Read the full storyRussia Considers Designating CNN, Voice Of America As Foreign Agents
Russia is considering designating CNN, Voice of America and Radio Liberty as foreign agents, now that the U.S. has forced state-run RT to register as a foreign agent. Russian officials said Friday that they’re thinking of making private and government-run American media entities register as foreign agents, which is exactly what Russia warned it would do…
Read the full storyState Senate Candidate Shane Reeves’ Company Received $1 Million Grant from TECD Approved by Randy Boyd in 2016, Reeves Family PAC Donated $5,000 to Gubernatorial Campaign in 2017
Tennessee political observers are questioning whether former commissioner of Tennessee Economic and Community Development (TECD), and current Republican candidate for governor, Randy Boyd used his previous office as a platform to prepare a gubernatorial campaign by directing state grants to local officials and businesses who might, and in many cases have, support his run for governor. One example cited by those observers involves State Senate candidate Shane Reeves. In July 2016 Randy Boyd, then-commissioner of TECD, approved a $1 million “Fast Track Economic Development Fund” grant for Murfreesboro based TwelveStone Health Partners, whose founder and and CEO Shane Reeves is a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 14th District State Senate special election prompted by the resignation of State Senator Jim Tracy (R-Shelbyville). Soon after Boyd left his state position to run for governor, the Reeves Family PAC, which lists Shane Reeves as the sole officer, donated $5,000 in April, 2017 to the Randy Boyd gubernatorial campaign. Reeves also personally endorsed Boyd during a campaign stop in Murfreesboro that same month. Randy Boyd resigned as commissioner of TECD in January 2017 and announced his candidacy for the Republican nomination for governor in March. In October, the Randy Boyd for Governor campaign announced that “50 of the 95 county mayors…
Read the full storyFaith: Verse of the Day for Monday, November 13
VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 13, Monday Luke 11:9 “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Ephesians 3:20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,
Read the full storyTennessee Fires Butch Jones
Tennessee fired fifth-year head coach Butch Jones after another blowout loss, according to multiple reports Sunday. Volunteers athletic director John Currie told Jones on Sunday morning that he was being fired, sources told ESPN’s Chris Low. The move was first reported by Sports Illustrated. Tennessee, winless this season in the SEC, was blown out 50-17 at…
Read the full storyJustin Allgaier Faces a Serious Penalty After His Car Fails Post-Race Inspection
With a 10th-place finish yesterday at Phoenix Raceway, JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier punched his ticket to the Championship 4 race at Homestead, but he’ll be competing in that race with an all-new crew chief. Following the Ticket Galaxy 200, NASCAR officials discovered his No. 7 Chevy had an unattached brake cooling hose during routine inspections,…
Read the full storySteve Bannon Predicts McConnell Will Be Out Of Leadership In A Year
Steve Bannon, former White House adviser and the populist chief of Breitbart News, predicts that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will lose his position as the head of Senate Republicans by November of 2018. In an interview with the New York Times released Friday, Bannon told reporter Jeremy Peters “I absolutely do not think [McConnell] will…
Read the full storyTrump Questions Church Of Scientology Tax Exemption
President Donald Trump apparently does not believes the Church of Scientology is a real religion, which could lead the church to lose its tax-exempt status just as Trump moves to appoint a new head of the Internal Revenue Service. Trump told Lynne Patton — a regional head at the Department of Housing and Urban Development —…
Read the full storyA Tale of Two Tax Bills: Comparing the House, Senate Reform Plans
Last week, the House GOP released the first concrete details on how Republicans plan to update the federal tax code. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act provides tax relief to many Americans and has the potential to facilitate real economic growth through important business-tax reforms. While the House proposal as a whole is certainly a step…
Read the full storyCommentary: GOP Nice Guys Will Finish Last In 2018
by George Rasley, CHQ Editor In one sense, the fact that Democrats won the gubernatorial races in two Democrat-dominated states, New Jersey and Virginia, is not a big deal. Given political trends in the Old Dominion, the Virginia Governor’s race was Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam’s to lose, likewise with the Chris Christie anchor around her neck, New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno Northam adwas never competitive against Democrat Phil Murphy. But as harbingers of things to come in 2018, the Virginia campaign in particular should be a big deal for Republicans. As our old friend John Gizzi reported for NewsMax, the Virginia Republican establishment was all in agreement that the mean-spirited, Trump-bashing campaign waged by Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam would surely boomerang and make Republican Ed Gillespie governor. They were wrong. With near final results in, Northam won by the biggest margin of any winning Democrat for governor (53 percent to 46 percent) in 32 years. Coupled with a Democratic sweep of the two other statewide races (lieutenant governor and attorney general) and a stunning gain of at least 12 seats in the state House of Delegates (putting Democrats on the verge of a 50-to-50 seat tie…
Read the full story63 Percent Of Alabama Republicans Still Support Roy Moore, Poll Says
A majority of Alabama Republicans still support GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore after four women accused him of inappropriate sexual conduct, according to a poll released Thursday. Sixty-three percent of Republicans in the state of Alabama still back the Republican candidate, according to a poll released by Decision Desk HQ after a report that details inappropriate…
Read the full storyUsing Grand Jury Testimony, ‘Ferguson’ Stage Play Challenges Media Narratives
NEW YORK – When it came time for Darren Wilson to testify about what happened after firing his gun from inside his vehicle, the Ferguson, Missouri, police officer told the grand jury that his assailant “had the most intense, aggressive face.” Wilson, then 28, is the white police officer who fatally shot Michael Brown, an 18-year-old…
Read the full storyRepublicans Fleeing Trump? Not in West Virginia
The shellacking handed to the GOP in Virginia on Tuesday has sent panic-stricken Republicans scrambling to distance themselves from President Donald Trump, whom they blame for the results. Not in West Virginia, though. While Trump’s approval rating has eroded across the country over the past year, he remains popular in the Mountain State, where he posted…
Read the full storyRoy Moore: Allegations Are ‘Completely False and Misleading’
Alabama Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore on Friday emphatically denied sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl — or even ever meeting her. Under fire after The Washington Post reported Leigh Corfman’s allegations that he undressed her in 1979, Moore told radio show host Sean Hannity that the allegations are false. “I don’t know Ms. Corfman from anybody,”…
Read the full storyMeet the Very Good Dogs Who Hunt Down Invasive Species
Lily is a golden retriever from Georgia. Seamus is a border collie from Montana. Together, they are leading a Working Dogs for Conservation team to eradicate an invasive weed from Mount Sentinel in Missoula, Montana. Before the team…
Read the full storyMetro Nashville Students Visit Local Mosque for Religious Instruction
On October 17th, students from Metro Nashville Meigs Middle Magnet School visited the Islamic Center of Nashville (ICN) where Dina Sirois, operations director of the mosque, told them that they would “talk about beliefs and practices in Islam.” An audio recording of Sirois’ presentation was forwarded to The Tennessee Star. Using a set of prepared slides, Sirois alternated between talking about Islamic religious doctrine and posing comparisons of Islam to Judaism and Christianity. She opened her talk telling the students that: We’re all on a learning journey and on a faith journey and today’s talk is to expand your critical thinking skills. We’re not trying to win you over. We’re trying to give you information so you can leave here today with yet another little piece of your brain that has some new little storage compartment that has been filled with Islam stuff and then you take that on with your life and your faith journey and then you keep adding more and more aspects from different faiths and different cultures until you make your final decision as to what kind of person you want to be when you grow up. Sirois described how she came from a “mixed family”: So I call…
Read the full storyFaith: Verse of the Day for Sunday, November 12
VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 12, Sunday Esther 4:14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Isaiah 64:4 Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him. Matthew 6:10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven
Read the full storyNo. 15 Oklahoma State Rallies Over No. 21 Iowa State, 49-42
Senior quarterback Mason Rudolph passed for three touchdowns and sophomore running back Justice Hill ran for three as No. 15 Oklahoma State rallied for a 49-42 victory over No. 21 Iowa State on Saturday in Big 12 play at Ames, Iowa. Rudolph passed for 376 yards and Hill rushed for 134 and the Cowboys (8-2, 5-2…
Read the full storyCommentary: Forget Kevin James, Better Spacey Replacements for ‘House of Cards’
There’s a petition going around online urging the creators of House of Cards to replace Kevin Spacey with Kevin James in the role of Frank Underwood. And it doesn’t seem like a joke. “Losing a great show is hard, no matter the circumstances. However with hardship comes the opportunity for a great show to become one…
Read the full storyThree Movies in Theaters That Conservatives Should See
Many conservatives and right-of-center thinkers are no doubt feeling alienated from Hollywood and its mainstream output right now. The box office , and that’s largely because of poor output, a lack of original ideas, too many aggressively liberal stars, and . There are, however, still many artists who are creating commendable and original pieces of work.…
Read the full storyGeorgia Tech Upsets No. 17 Virginia Tech, 28-22
ATLANTA — Georgia Tech quarterback TaQuon Marshall completed only two passes, but both went for touchdowns, and the Yellow Jackets upset No. 17 Virginia Tech 28-22 on Saturday at Bobby Dodd Stadium. The winning score came with 6:30 remaining when Marshall connected with Ricky Jeune for 80 yards. Jeune dove in and clipped the pylon. The…
Read the full storyUS Honors 20 Million Former Service Members on Veterans Day
U.S. President Donald Trump honored the nation’s veterans Saturday, saying in a video message they are “this country’s greatest national treasure.” “On this wonderful Veterans Day, I want to express the incredible gratitude of the entire American nation to the millions and millions of veterans that bravely defended our nation in uniform, and the strong families…
Read the full storyTrump Wishes Happy Birthday to US Marine Corps
President Donald Trump on Friday wished a happy birthday to the Marine Corps, honoring its 242nd year in existence. “On behalf of an entire nation, Happy 242nd Birthday to the men and women of the United States Marines!” Trump wrote on Twitter, in a post accompanied by several pictures of him posing with Marines.…
Read the full storyCommentary: The Power of Charity Over Government
TJX Companies, Inc., the corporate owners of Marshalls, T.J. Maxx and HomeGoods, announced just recently that even though its shops’ doors have been closed for more than six weeks in hurricane-plagued Puerto Rico, all its employees will still be paid. This is how America rolls. Truly, this is what Founding Fathers intended. And furthermore – take…
Read the full storyFlorida State’s Emmett Rice Is Ejected After Dirty Targeting Play
Florida State is not looking good against Clemson as they headed into halftime down 17-0. While it’s understandable that the team might be upset, there is absolutely no reason why the hit below should take place on a return. FSU’s Emmett Rice went head hunting and was ejected for this hit on a Clemson tackler: Not…
Read the full storyTwenty-Two Men, Half Now in ICE Custody, Indicted in Brentwood Human Trafficking Sting
Twenty-two men, half of whom are now in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have been indicted in an undercover human trafficking sting in Brentwood. The operation was carried out by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), the Brentwood Police Department, Homeland Security Investigations and the office of 21st District Attorney General Kim Helper. A Williamson County grand jury on Monday returned mostly felony indictments against the 22 men, who were attempting to buy illicit sex from minors. “Unfortunately, the results of this joint operation demonstrate the need for continued vigilance for signs of human trafficking in our communities,” Helper said in a news release issued by the TBI Thursday. “The fact that so many men were willing to engage in sexual activity with who they believed to be a 14- and 16-year-old is shocking. Our office will continue to vigorously pursue and prosecute individuals involved in any form of human trafficking.” As part of the sting in early October, two female TBI agents posed as individuals offering sex on Backpage.com. They identified themselves as 14 and 16 years old in text or phone conversations that followed. Men who traveled to meet with them for sex despite the ages…
Read the full storySen. Bob Corker Announces Hearing Tuesday on President’s Authority to Use Nuclear Weapons
U.S. Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) announced this week that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee will hold a hearing Tuesday on the authority of the executive branch to use nuclear weapons, reports The Hill. The hearing comes in the aftermath of President Trump warning North Korea in August that it could face “fire and fury like the world has never seen” if it continues to build up its nuclear program. A frequent critic now of Trump’s leadership abilities, Corker is chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He has accused the president of putting the U.S. “on the path to World War III” with the way he threatens other countries. On Wednesday, Corker said in a statement that “a number of members both on and off our committee have raised questions about the authorities of the legislative and executive branches with respect to war making, the use of nuclear weapons, and conducting foreign policy overall.” Corker continued, “This continues a series of hearings to examine these issues and will be the first time since 1976 that this committee or our House counterparts have looked specifically at the authority and process for using U.S. nuclear weapons. This discussion is long overdue, and we look forward…
Read the full storySenate and House Face Off Over Tax Reform
After an embarrassing off-year election in New Jersey and Virginia last Tuesday, the Republican Party now faces the very real possibility that it could stumble on tax reform, perhaps sinking its majorities in the 2018 midterm elections. The Senate Republicans announced on Thursday the latest iteration of the White House tax plan, hoping to delay the…
Read the full storyRejected: United Auto Workers Bid to Unionize Ohio Factory Fails
The United Auto Workers has suffered another stinging defeat as workers overwhelmingly voted against unionizing at the Fuyao Chinese-owned car glass plant in Ohio. UAW officials blamed what they called the company’s aggressive anti-union tactics, and labor experts said it showed that companies have the advantage over any effort by workers to unionize. Employees at the…
Read the full storyCommentary: The Shocking Truth About Our Average Annual GDP ‘Growth’
by Robert Romano One of the greatest disappointments with the U.S. economy since the turn of the century has been its consistent underperformance, not growing above an inflation-adjusted average annual rate of 4 percent since 2000, and not above 3 percent since 2005. What has come in its stead the past 10 years is the slowest economic growth rate in U.S. history — even slower than the Great Depression. Restoring the U.S. to 3 percent or maybe even 4 percent growth has been one of President Donald Trump’s major goals, but getting there will not be so easy. Just take 2017. On an inflation-adjusted, annualized basis, there was 1.2 percent growth in the first quarter, 3.1 percent in the second quarter and 3.0 percent growth in the third quarter, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. So, to get to 3 percent growth for the year, we’d need 4.7 percent growth in the fourth quarter, right? Wrong. The actual answer would be 14.5 percent. Why? How is that possible? Because annual GDP growth is calculated by the taking the four readings of the real GDP using chained dollars for two consecutive years, averaging each year out…
Read the full storySandra Bullock to Play Texas Democrat and Abortion Zealot Wendy Davis in ‘Let Her Speak’
Former Texas State Senator Wendy Davis will soon be portrayed on the big screen by actress Sandra Bullock. The woman who won a Best Actress Oscar for “The Blind Side” in 2010 now plans to highlight the 2013 anti-abortion bill filibuster that made Ms. Davis – and her pink running shoes – a household name. Ms.…
Read the full storyTennessee Baptist Convention in Turmoil Over Female Pastor in East Tennessee
An East Tennessee Southern Baptist church is likely to lose its standing with the Tennessee Baptist Convention over hiring a female senior pastor earlier this year. At their annual meeting in Hendersonville Sunday through Wednesday, Tennessee Baptists may vote on whether First Baptist Church in Jefferson City can seat “messengers,” or voting representatives, reports the Baptist and Reflector news publication. The convention’s credentials committee agreed last month that a church with a woman senior pastor cannot be considered a “cooperating church” according to convention bylaws. “If a church with a woman senior pastor tries to register messengers, the request will be denied, but the decision to seat messengers from the church ultimately will be decided by a vote by messengers,” the Baptist and Reflector reported. Ellen Di Giosia became the pastor of First Baptist Aug. 1. “It is regrettable when one of our churches makes a decision that results in a broken confessional relationship with our TBC network of churches,” said Randy C. Davis, president and executive director of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. First Baptist issued a statement from Di Giosia and deacon chair John McGraw saying they were “saddened” by the position taken by the credentials committee. The statement said the convention “has…
Read the full story‘My Democratic Friends Are Mad at Me’: Donna Brazile Explains Herself in Deep-Left San Francisco
SAN FRANCISCO — After publishing an unfettered memoir critiquing Hillary Clinton’s failed presidential bid, former Democratic Party leader Donna Brazile on Thursday doubled down on her criticism of the nominee before a receptive audience in deepest-left California. Brazile’s tell-all book has revived sour Election Day memories for Democrats, including her claim that the party gamed the…
Read the full storyReport: Rand Paul Attacker to Be Charged with Federal Crimes
Fox News reported Thursday that Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has been told that the neighbor who attacked him out of the blue on Friday will be charged with federal crimes. Judge Andrew Napolitano, a legal analyst for Fox, said that prosecutors believe the attack, by neighbor Rene Boucher, was politically motivated, which would make it a…
Read the full storyDr. Bryan Merrick Makes His Case To Top Federal Officials for Reinstatement into Medicare System
Dr. Bryan Merrick and his attorney Roy Herron met in Baltimore on Thursday with top federal officials at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), the part of the Department of Health and Human Services responsible for administering the Medicare program, to make the case for the reinstatement of his Medicare billing privileges. As The Tennessee Star reported, the well respected West Tennessee family practice doctor’s Medicare billing privileges were revoked in March under an abusive Obama-era regulation over a reported $670 in billing errors. Late last month, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN) called on Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT) to hold hearings at the Senate Finance Committee he chairs to consider revoking the regulation. Earlier in October, McKenzie, Tennessee Mayor Jill Holland wrote a letter to Senator Alexander asking him to hold hearings of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee he chairs to consider revoking the regulation, but Alexander noted that Hatch’s Senate Finance Committee has jurisdiction over Medicare and Medicaid issues. Last week, former Congressional candidate Dr. George Flinn wrote President Trump a letter requesting that he instruct CMS to amend the regulation. “We had a good meeting. We felt like the officials listened carefully and asked…
Read the full storyFaith: Verse of the Day for Saturday, November 11
VERSE OF THE DAY Be blessed and be a blessing November 11, Saturday Jeremiah 2:2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown. Romans 12:10 Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;
Read the full storyKevin Spacey Eradicated from Ridley Scott’s Kidnap Thriller ‘All the Money in the World’
On the same day that another accuser came forward with sexual misconduct allegations against Kevin Spacey, news broke that the actor would be completely cut out of an upcoming film. Not only that, but filmmakers would also take the extraordinary step of replacing Spacey with another actor, even when the movie is just weeks away from…
Read the full storyReview: 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…
Read the full story14th 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…
Read the full storyRepublican 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…
Read the full storyBannon to McConnell: Resign From Senate Leadership
10In the latest battle of the ongoing war between Stephen K. Bannon and the Republican establishment, the former White House chief political strategist called on Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, Republican of Kentucky, to step down from the leadership position he has held for nearly two years. The extraordinary suggestion, made on Fox News on Wednesday…
Read the full storyNashville 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…
Read the full storyFord, Chinese Firm to Invest $756 Million on Electric Cars
US auto stalwart Ford announced on Wednesday a $756 million investment with its Chinese joint venture to produce electric cars, just as US President Donald Trump arrived in Beijing for thorny trade talks. Ford’s investment with Zotye comes as China has signalled it plans to force gas-guzzling vehicles off the road, though the country has yet…
Read the full storySuspect Who Assaulted Rand Paul Pleads Not Guilty
The man who assaulted Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul outside of his home pleaded not guilty to misdemeanor assault in the fourth degree at his court date Thursday. Rene Boucher tackled Paul in his front lawn Friday, breaking six of his ribs and bruising his lungs. Boucher plead not guilty in court, according to CNN. His…
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