COLUMBIA, S.C. — One of two Amtrak staffers killed in Sunday’s crash had told his brother he worried about dying in a wreck on the rails. Michael Kempf, 54, was killed Sunday when an Amtrak train ran off the main track, smashing into a parked train car.
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Israel is taking steps to deport thousands of African migrants. Israeli immigration authorities have begun issuing deportation orders to asylum seekers from war-torn Eritrea and Sudan. It is the latest step in Israel’s plan to expel about 40,000 African migrants, after they entered the country illegally during the past decade.
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Amid a growing uncertainty about the fate of DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals) students and others without legal status, universities across the country are not only championing the plight of these individuals — they’re stepping in with a relief plan for those with “at risk” status.
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The first modern Briton had dark skin and blue eyes, London scientists said on Wednesday, following groundbreaking DNA analysis of the remains of a man who lived 10,000 years ago. Known as “Cheddar Man” after the area in southwest England where his skeleton was discovered in a cave in 1903, the ancient man has been brought to life through the first ever full DNA analysis of his remains.
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Patience was in short supply during the leg-jiggling, finger-tapping, tension-filled hours before the launch of the Falcon Heavy, which would, if successful, become the most powerful operational rocket on the planet. From thousands of miles away viewers obsessively checked Twitter for live updates from the hundreds of reporters and thousands of visitors who showed up to witness history.
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Pope emeritus Benedict XVI hinted Wednesday that is is nearing death and ready for his final “pilgrimage” at the age of 90. “In the slow decline of my physical strength, internally, I am on a pilgrimage to the House (of the Lord)”, Joseph Ratzinger wrote in a letter published in the Corriere della Sera daily, which had told him many readers were concerned about his health.
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Former Tennessee linebacker Kevin Simon has reportedly accepted a position on the Vols’ coaching staff, according to former teammate and current Knoxville area radio host Jayson Swain. I’m loving this staff! Former Vol Kevin Simon is expected to join staff. Simon worked in NFL as a scout previously. Simon’s addition is Program changing for the #Vols.
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One year ago Tuesday, February 6, The Tennessee Star launched into the news media scene. Since then, the news organization has filed more than 4,500 stories and received over five million visits from people all over Middle Tennessee, across the Volunteer State and around the world. “I remember that first moment when we went live,” Managing Editor Christina Botteri said. “It was like being all ready for a party, but before anyone shows up…. Will anyone come? Will they see what we are doing and appreciate the fresh take on the news of the day?” Botteri didn’t have to wait long for an answer. Within the first 24 hours, the brand-new website had over 3,000 unique visitors, and over 9,000 visits. “We out performed our projections by a factor of three,” Botteri said. “By the end of our first month – a mere 22 days – we were visited over 175,000 times,” Botteri recalled, adding, “We realized almost immediately we would have to upgrade our servers in order to handle all the the traffic.” Through March, The Star began reporting on Governor Haslam’s gas tax hike proposal and readership soared to over 285,000 visits within that 31-day period alone, followed by…
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Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to create a committee to investigate Mayor Megan Barry’s affair with her bodyguard Sgt. Rob Forrest, WSMV reported. Councilwoman Tanaka Vercher proposed the resolution. The council has not taken such action since 1974 during a land rezoning bribery scandal involving former council members Morris Haddox and Jack Clariday, The Tennessean reported. The 30-7 vote will create a committee of three to seven council members to oversee the probe, focusing on travel and overtime expenses of Barry and Forrest, the newspaper said. Barry does not have the power to veto the action. The council is turning to an authority under the Metro Charter to hold investigations and hearings, The Tennessean said. The power includes the ability to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of books, papers and records pertinent to the investigation. Testimony will be under oath. Barry admitted to the affair on Jan. 31. District Attorney Glenn Funk asked the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation to look into the matter to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing in the form of overseas trips and overtime payments to Forrest.
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Nashville Metro Council voted Tuesday to place both the $5.35 billion and $9 billion transit plan price tags on the May 1 referendum. An amendment showing the price range was approved on a 34-2-2 vote. The vote was part of the third and final reading of the referendum language. Debate during the council meeting likened the transportation plan to buying a car. When buying a car, one looks at the dealer’s price as the purchase price; expenses like tires and fuel are operating costs, council member Jeremy Elrod said. Council member Bob Mendes said “We’re not buying a car.” To buy an operating system, one pays not only the upfront costs but also debt and has to consider the debt terms and payback period. One must consider the bond debt payment. He said the $8.95 billion figure was good enough for the state comptroller. Jeff Eller, campaign spokesman for NoTax4Tracks, which has expressed concerns about the transit plan, said, “We believe the Council did the right thing by letting voters decide on the full cost of the $9-billion light rail plan. They will now have the opportunity to understand this plan will result in the highest sales tax in the country…
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Shortly after taking office in 2015, Mayor Megan Barry recommended Macy Amos – the adult daughter of her security detail Rob Forrest, with whom she would later admit to having an extensive affair – for a lucrative job withing the Nashville’s legal department. The City’s legal department had not added any positions for a period of two years nor did they budget for such and expansion, The Tennessean reports. But after a new, entry-level job was created, Barry swiftly approved the move and recommended Amos. No other applicant was considered, and she was hired in January 2016. The Tennessean reports that Metro Law Department Director Jon Cooper insists the the decision to hire Amos was his and no one else’s, and notes that Amos was a highly qualified candidate with a law degree from Belmont University and previous interning experience with Mayors Bill Purcell and Karl Dean. “The mayor did recommend Macy during a meeting I had with her at some point, as did a number of people in the legal community,” Cooper said in an email to The Tennessean, adding that she was the “logical choice” for the job. To date, Mayor Barry has given answers that are vague and sometimes…
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by Jeffery Rendall Every company, organization and family has one – a so-called “Devil’s advocate.” Wikipedia defines “Devil’s advocate” as “someone who, given a certain point of view, takes a position he or she does not necessarily agree with (or simply an alternative position from the accepted norm), for the sake of debate or to explore the thought further.” Needless to say American politics is full of loathsome “Devil’s advocate” troublemakers. These naysayers take cover behind self-styled “principled” objections to deserving actions when they’re really just seeking sympathetic media attention for themselves – or even worse, they have an axe to grind against rivals in the party. Sometimes they’re known as “independents” or “mavericks” but they’re not individualistic at all – they’re agitators. Senator John McCain played “Devil’s advocate” last week after the newly released House Intelligence Committee memo detailed multiple abuses by FBI officials in pursuit of a vendetta against then candidate and now President Donald Trump. While conservatives and Republicans reacted with stunned horror to the notion of government officers deliberately employing surveillance powers to play politics, “D.A. McCain” took the opposite approach. Elena Schor of Politico reported, “The statement from McCain, who is away from Washington undergoing treatment for…
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In another devastating blow from her left-leaning base, long time pastor and community activist Reverend Enoch Fuzz called on embattled Mayor Megan Barry to resign from office after a series of revelations involving a years-long extramarital affair came to light. “If the mayor stays in office, those important issues are put at risk. Even the big thing about the possibility that the great Amazon company would come here, those kinds of things are put at risk,” Rev. Enoch Fuzz told WKRN News: The billions of dollars in investments that are being lost right now because we are distracted by this kind of thing. R-e-s-i-g-n. Not to insult, not to hurt, not to condemn, but for the good of all the people who are citizens of the city, including Megan. Let’s move aside so that the world can see that our city is moving ahead. WKRN notes that so far – despite public outcry – the Metro Nashville Council members have not asked Mayor Barry to step down, and indeed, have largely “kept mum on the subject of her affair.”
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President Trump remained confident about the health of the economy Tuesday despite the wild ride on Wall Street, the White House said. “This president and this White House are focused on long-term economic fundamentals which are strong,” White House Deputy press secretary Raj Shah said on Fox Business Network.
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A referendum to increase county sales taxes in Williamson County from 2.25 percent to 2.77 percent passed by a 2-to-1 margin in a low turnout election held in the dead of winter on Tuesday. “Out of the 12,365 ballots cast, 66.1 percent (or just over 8,000 voters) voted for the increase, while 33.9 percent (just over 4,000) voted against the referendum,” WSMV reported after the polls closed Tuesday and all the votes were counted. “This is an extremely low turnout so far,” Williamson County Administrator of Elections Chad Gray told WSMV before the polls closed on Tuesday. After all the votes were count, Gray’s initial comments were confirmed–only about 9 percent of the county’s registered voters ended up casting their ballots. About 6,000 participated in early voting between January 17 and February 1, and a little over 6,000 voted on the actual election day, Tuesday. Supporters of the county sales tax increase said the additional funds were needed to pay for new public schools in the Williamson County School system. Opponents decried the increase as insufficient for the claimed purpose, and the wrong mechanism for financing new school construction. But the supporters were well funded and politically clever to schedule…
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Community Oversight Nashville (CON), a coalition of leftist and left-leaning groups came together to issue an open letter Monday raising serious questions as to Mayor Megan Barry fitness to hold office, in light of the bombshell revelations into possible legal and ethical wrongdoing stemming from her elicit extra-marital affair with the head of her security detail, Rob Forrest. The letter begins: We, undersigned members of the Community Oversight Now Coalition, are writing this letter to ensure that our concerns regarding the ramifications and repercussions of Mayor Barry’s admission of an improper relationship with MNPD Sergeant Robert Forrest, Jr. are adequately considered and fully addressed. We have also filed an ethics complaint with the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct as we are convinced that Mayor Barry has acted unethically. We feel that Mayor Barry may have been improperly influenced against the community oversight board due to her relationship with Sgt. Forrest. Community Oversight Nashville’s members come from a broad spectrum of left-of-center groups, including Black Lives Matter, Justice for Jocques, Democracy Nashville, Gideon’s Army, The Harriet Tubman House, and No Exceptions Prison Collective. The coalition’s aim is to form community oversight committees to which law enforcement would answer in cases of…
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Sean Braisted, Director of Communications for the Mayor’s Office, has confirmed to The Tennessee Star that Mayor Megan Barry’s lover, Sgt. Rob Forrest, was the only Metro Nashville security officer assigned to travel with the mayor when she attended the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July 2016. Mayor Barry has previously claimed that Forrest only accompanied her out of state as a security officer when paid by Metro Nashville when she was traveling on official city business. Barry attended the Democratic National Convention not on city business, but on political and personal business as a delegate committed to Hillary Clinton. Braisted failed to respond directly to The Star’s request that he identify the specific city business Barry conducted at the Democratic National Convention. Instead, he asserted that Barry “met with many other mayors, as well as state and federal officials during the course of this trip.” He also fell back on a previous statement by Metro Nashville Police Chief Steve Anderson in explaining why Forrest was assigned to accompany Mayor Barry on this trip, and presumably, was paid by Metro Nashville to do so. “As Chief Anderson has said, the mayor is the mayor wherever she is and…
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