The White House on Saturday released a redacted version of a Democratic congressional memo that rebuts a Republican account of alleged FBI surveillance abuses. The release of the Democratic memo came three weeks after the release of the Republican version of events, which was compiled by staffers of House intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes of California.…
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Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of the Roman Catholic diocese of Springfield, Illinois, is upholding a 2004 decision to block Sen. Dick Durbin from receiving Holy Communion due to his pro-abortion rights views. A statement issued by Bishop Paprocki on Feb. 13 said Mr. Durbin, Illinois Democrat, was among 14 Catholic members of the U.S. Senate who voted against the Pain-Capable Unborn Children’s Act last month, which would have banned abortions nationwide after 20 weeks post-fertilization. The bill failed to pass cloture – receiving 51 votes in favor and 46 against – and could not proceed to a vote on final passage.
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Penny Forrest, the wife of Sgt. Rob Forrest, the former Metro Nashville Police Department officer who conducted a two-year long extramarital affair with Nashville Megan Mayor Barry, has filed for divorce. WKRN reported: Court documents show the complaint was filed on Feb. 23 and cites irreconcilable differences and inappropriate marital conduct. According to the divorce complaint, Penny Forrest would show that her husband “has been guilty of inappropriate marital conduct as to render further cohabitation unsafe and improper.” “Saturday, Rob Forrest’s attorney released the following statement regarding the divorce filing,” NewsChannel 5 reported: Mr. Forrest is aware he will shortly be served with divorce papers. He deeply regrets that his conduct will cost him his marriage. Given the intensely personal nature of a divorce, Mr. Forrest asks for privacy for his family at this difficult time. Mr. Forrest and I will have no further statement. “The divorce complaint also includes a temporary injunction,” WSMV reported: According to the American Bar Association, a temporary injunction is a court order requiring both parties to cease some particular action until a hearing can take place. Failure to do so can result in fines, arrest, or even prison time depending on the circumstances of…
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District 12 Metro Councilman Steve Glover plans to introduce legislation next week so that ethics guidelines like those written in Mayor Barry’s Executive Order 005, apply to elected officials: Given this new revelation, I will be introducing legislation next week to make sure that the rules and ethics will apply to elected officials and that we do not get a separate set of standards. Glover’s proposed legislation is in response to the review by former Metro lawyers Saul Solomon, Kevin C. Klein and Allison Bussell whose firm Klein Bussell was retained by the Metro Legal Department to evaluate an ethics complaint filed against the Mayor one week after she admitted to her extramarital affair. Klein Bussell’s review of the ethics complaint concluded in part, that the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct, “lacks jurisdiction to examine alleged violations of Metropolitan Government executive orders.” The Star asked Councilman Glover what purpose is served by Executive Order 005 if no one can be held accountable to its contents; his response was prompt and candid: In light of what has been revealed by this independent legal finding, it saddens me even greater than in days past. If Mayor Barry’s Executive Order has no reach, then it’s…
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FRANKLIN, Tennessee–An overflow crowd of more than three hundred Republicans attended the annual Williamson County Reagan Day Dinner at the Marriott in Cool Springs on Friday night. The evening featured a gubernatorial forum in which the four leading Republican candidates for governor–Knoxville businessman Randy Boyd, Rep. Diane Black (R-TN-06), Williamson County businessman Bill Lee, and Tennessee Speaker of the House Beth Harwell (R-Nashville)–all participated. In addition, U.S. Senate candidate Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) and 7th Congressional District candidate State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville) both spoke, and two Williamson County Republicans, retiring State Rep. Charles Sargent (R-Franklin), and Williamson County Republican Committee Vice Chairman Stephen Siao, were honored. Sargent was presented a lifetime achievement award for his tenure in the State House, marked by his leadership role in maintaining and improving the state’s sound credit rating, by three members of the Tennessee General Assembly delegation who represent Williamson County, State Senator Jack Johnson (R-Franklin), State Rep. Glen Casada (R-Franklin), and State Rep. Sam Whitson (R-Franklin). Siao received the Republican of the Year award for his tireless work behind the scenes to assist first time political candidates and help in party activities. Nationally syndicated talk radio host and Williamson County resident Phil…
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State auditors are investigating Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s affair with her chief bodyguard, a media outlet reports. The Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury is working with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation on looking into Barry’s and Sgt. Rob Forrest’s affair, according to a story published by The Tennessean. The newspaper did not disclose its sources. The office investigates potential instances of misconduct by public officials and government bodies. If true, the comptroller’s involvement would make it at least the fourth government agency to investigate the years-long affair, the newspaper reports. One other investigating agency includes a special Metro Council committee, the likes of which has not been seen since 1974 during a land rezoning bribery scandal involving former council members. Comptroller’s office spokesman John Dunn told The Tennessean “alleged or suspected misuse of public dollars is something that the Comptroller’s office has the authority to investigate” but did not give additional comment. Barry’s lawyer, Jerry Martin, has asked that District Attorney Glenn Funk recuse himself from the investigation, citing an alleged conflict of interest. In other news, NewsChannel 5 reported that a white SUV Forrest used to drive Barry around made numerous early morning visits to Nashville City Cemetery. The…
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President Trump said Friday that gun-free school zones don’t protect students, as he renewed his call to arm more qualified teachers and other school employees. “When we declare our schools to be gun-free zones, it just puts our students in far more danger,” Mr. Trump said at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. “Well-trained gun-adept teachers and coaches and people that work in those buildings who were in the Marines for 20 years … should be able to carry concealed firearms. It’s time to make our schools a much harder target for attackers.”
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The federal agency that oversees legal immigration to the U.S. has removed the words “nation of immigrants” from its mission statement, as the Trump administration moves to put Americans as the top priority.
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By Fielding Rolston When students step into their classrooms, they are there to learn and prepare for their future. Our teachers serve to advance each student’s education and guide them towards success. Educators have an additional responsibility: maintaining the trust and respect of their students and their communities by conducting themselves professionally and responsibly. The vast majority of our teachers are upstanding professionals, but when a teacher violates this trust, their professional license in Tennessee may be suspended or revoked. Though a small agency in the state government, the State Board of Education develops the rules and policies for K-12 education in Tennessee, and serves a crucial role through the thorough examination of licensure discipline cases. By holding our state’s educators to the highest standards, we can ensure the safety of our children and preserve the professional integrity of the teaching profession. For the last twenty-two years, I have served on Tennessee’s State Board of Education and for twelve of those years, I was the Board’s chairman. During this time, I have seen hundreds of educator licensure discipline cases, and most were not severe. However, we have seen teachers abuse their roles, exhibiting inappropriate and sometimes criminal behavior towards…
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Those who believe a certain Arkansas-based political family “always gets away with it” should know that the race to indict, prosecute, and convict multiple actors leading the sprawling, international Clinton Foundation fraud conspiracy is on. Though long overdue, this seems eminently fair since prominent persons who operated porous and loosely controlled false-front philanthropies a tiny fraction the size of the known Clinton “charities,” including former Rep. (D-Fla.), were sentenced to federal prison for lengthy terms.
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Laura Ingraham said Friday morning the fight for the Trump agenda and against the bureaucracy is not over — and conservatives have to “agitate, agitate, agitate.” Ingraham, the Fox News host of “The Ingraham Angle” and co-founder of LifeZette, delighted a crowd of thousands with her rallying speech, given at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference, held this year at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center in Oxon Hill, Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
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Franklin Graham shared a final message from his father, renowned evangelist Billy Graham, after his death Wednesday at 99. The son recounted in USA Today his father’s 70 years of ministry spreading the message of the Gospel around the world from crowded stadiums during his signature crusades to intimate personal meetings with heads of state.
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Holy hold the presses Batman – we’ve got it all wrong!!! It’s not the citizens of Nashville whose money was used so the Mayor could have sex with her bodyguard who are victimized by the Mayor’s adultery. It’s not Sgt. Forrest’s wife and kids who’ve been humiliated by the Mayor who was huggin’ on Sgt. Forrest at the same time she was hugging his wife and his father-in-law while visiting the family’s patriarch in the hospital. It’s not even her husband Bruce who the Mayor lied to for two years while she was doin’ the dirty with Sgt. Forrest who she publicly made a cuckold. Now that we know about the nude photos, the Mayor says she’s the victim! And about those “nudies” – that is, if they are of her, she’s “furious” about the invasion of her privacy!!! It is, however, kind of confusing how the relationship she described as – consensual between two middle-aged adults who had feelings for each other- and what they do during their “personal time” can ever be an invasion of her privacy. With all the convoluted and not believable statements coming out of the Mayor’s office – like the one about her early…
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The United States says it will open a new embassy in Jerusalem in May to coincide with Israel’s 70th anniversary. The State Department said Friday that the new embassy would be located in a building that currently houses the U.S. consular operations in Jerusalem, before moving to a separate annex by the end of 2019.
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America’s illegal immigrant population fell to 10.8 million in 2016, the lowest mark since 2003, according to a released Thursday by a New York-based think tank. The Center for Migration Studies, which used Census Bureau data to make the estimate, argued the falling numbers undercut the need for a border wall proposed by President Donald Trump.
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The Secret Service took a woman into custody Friday afternoon after she drove a vehicle into a security barrier near the White House. Television footage showed a White van or SUV with Tennessee license plates stopped at barricade along 17th Street with its rear window shattered. The Secret Service said no shots were fired.
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State Senator Bill Ketron is questioning why no cases of female genital mutilation (FGM) have been reported since 2012, after his bill requiring healthcare providers to report suspected incidents of FGM to law enforcement officials, including the district attorney general’s office, became state law. Ketron sponsored the 2012 bill after the Hospital Association “slipped us the information” that at least twenty-one cases of FGM in Tennessee had been reported at that time. Tennessee criminalized FGM as a Class D felony in 1996, but as Ketron told The Star, “we had no mechanism for reporting under previous law which was a barrier to prosecution. So, that is what [his 2012] bill was about – to stop this act from occurring in our state.” Ketron’s response to the absence of reporting is a bill passed 9-0 by the Senate Health and Welfare Committee on Wednesday. This bill requires the District Attorney Generals to annually report the number of FGM cases reported to their offices to the Senate Judiciary and House Criminal Justice Committees. While presenting the bill to the Committee, Ketron questioned the absence of any reporting since 2012, given the fact that twenty-one cases of FGM had already been reported. He told the committee that his…
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President Trump spoke at the annual 2018 gathering of the American Conservative Union’s Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) Friday morning to capacity crowd of enthusiastic Republicans, conservatives, pundits, bloggers, and a few perhaps less-than-ebullient, mainstream-media-types. After thanking ACU president Matt Schlapp for his gracious introduction, and then thanking the crowd, President Trump began, “I’m thrilled to be back at CPAC, with so many of my wonderful friends and amazing supporters, and proud conservatives. Remember when I first started running? Because I wasn’t a politician, fortunately. But do you remember I started running and people would say, ‘Are you sure he’s a conservative?’ I think now we’ve proved that I’m a conservative, right?” Mr. Trump outlined the important role the yearly CPAC event – now in it’s 45 year – has played in promoting conservative values and shaping policy for lasting conservative victories. “For the last year, with your help, we have put more great conservative ideas into use than perhaps ever before in American history,” he said. Then in his predictably unpredictable style, the president took a moment to admire the stage and set, noting his own portrait off to the side. “By the way, what a nice picture that is. Look…
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In a hand-delivered letter to District Attorney Glenn Funk, Jerry Martin – Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s lawyer – asked late Thursday that Funk “revisit the issue of whether you and your office may have a conflict of interest” in the criminal investigation into possible wrongdoing surrounding the embattled Mayor’s two-year extramarital affair with her former bodyguard, retired Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Rob Forrest. A copy of the letter was obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates, who report: That request came in a letter hand-delivered to Funk on Thursday. Later that night, Barry questioned Funk’s role in the case, including what she called a politically motivated decision to publicly release a damning TBI affidavit that implied investigators may have nude photos of the mayor. Barry’s attorney, Jerry Martin, wrote in the letter that Funk himself had raised the possibility of a conflict of interest back in early February. “I would respectfully ask you to revisit the issue of whether you and your office may have a conflict of interest,” Martin wrote in the letter obtained by NewsChannel 5 Investigates. “Understand that I raise this issue not only to ensure that my client gets a fair process but also to ensure that the…
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Friday morning via a detailed statement released by her lawyer, Nashville Mayor Megan Barry’s attorney said he shared the passcode to Barry’s personal cell phone – at her direction – with the TBI, fulfilling their request in furtherance of the investigation into possible wrongdoing surrounding the Mayor’s years-long affair with her former security chief, Rob Forrest. “This morning I spoke with TBI Director Mark Gwyn to provide the TBI with the passcode for Mayor Barry’s personal cell phone,” attorney Jerry Martin said in a statement, noting, “This is her personal phone, not her Metro issued phone. I have confidence that Director Gwyn will ensure that the TBI limits its search of her personal phone to only items that are relevant to its investigation.” Martin continued, adding context and narrative to the reportage about the Mayor’s alleged ‘stonewalling’ saying that the “reports that the Mayor has been uncooperative during this process are untrue:” We have provided the TBI with thousands of pages of documents at its request. I would like to set the record straight to clear up any confusion related to the Mayor’s cooperation, especially as it relates to her personal cell phone. On February 15, 2018, I met with District…
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Former Nashville Mayor, Tennessee Governor and now current candidate for U.S. Senate, Democrat Phil Bredesen appeared in Chattanooga Tuesday for his first campaign event since announcing his run December 6, 2017. After a tour of the TVA hydroelectric facility in nearby Raccoon Mountain, Bredesen met with members of the media, where he addressed issues on a wide range of topics. In a twelve minute video (embedded below) of an exchange between Bredesen and media obtained by Nooga.com, the former governor spoke on a variety of issues, albeit in a noticeably subdued voice. On gun control and reaction to the horrific Parkland school murders, Bredesen’s response to a News9 reporter’s question about the event seemed to focus narrowly on restrictions on firearm ownership by people who have been diagnosed with a mental or emotional disorder. “I do think it is time to – for everyone including, very strong supporters of the Second Amendment – to get reasonable about this,” Bredesen said, adding: This tragedy in Florida – the latest one – I’m one of those that agree that it’s beyond thoughts and prayers now. We need to do some specific things. I personally feel that there’s a lot of tightening up that could be done…
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The scandal surrounding Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her admission of a two-year-long extramarital affair with her bodyguard, now-retired Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Rob Forrest, intensified on Thursday when the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) released an affidavit presented to a judge in support of a search warrant for the city-issued cell phone of Forrest and the personal cell phone of Barry. “Authorities believe that Forrest took two photos of a nude woman who is believed to be Barry on his police department-issued cell phone. He allegedly sent the pictures to himself to his MNPD email,” WSMV reported on Thursday. As if those details were not bizarre enough, a defiant Mayor Barry told WSMV later on Thursday in an on-camera interview, “I am furious as you might imagine today when I learned there might be photos of me. If they exist, they were taken without my knowledge and without my consent. It didn’t show that I have done anything wrong or criminal and, in fact, if anything was wrongly done, it was done to me personally.” Barry then attacked the TBI for the manner in which they were conducting their investigation of her, barely three weeks after the January 31 press conference…
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MIAMI — Eight days after mass shooter Nikolas Cruz murdered 17 people inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Broward’s top cop on Thursday revealed a stunning series of failures by the sheriff’s department. A school campus cop heard the gunfire, rushed to the building but never went inside — instead waiting outside for another four agonizing minutes as Cruz continued the slaughter. And long before Cruz embarked on the worst school shooting in Florida history, Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies had multiple warnings that the 19-year-old was a violent threat and a potential school shooter, according to records released Thursday.
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by Jeff Hartline In the aftermath of the Florida School Shooting last week, the handwringing continues. Why didn’t the FBI do their job? Why didn’t the adults in the shooter’s home sense a problem? What drugs was this kid on? Who was monitoring his social media? Why didn’t local Law Enforcement do its job? Law Enforcement has much to answer for, but they almost always come in after the fact and mop up the carnage. These good men and women can’t be everywhere all the time. But responsible adults in the schools can be present and ready to respond. In my last Commentary, I suggested that the simple solution to these type shootings was to immediately arm willing and capable schoolteachers and staff. I suggested rather than blame the NRA, we need to focus the blame on elected officials, school boards and teacher organizations for their refusal to eliminate schools as “soft targets” and remove the stigma of “gun-free zones” from them that make them such enticing targets for people bent on harming our most vulnerable. In Tennessee, there have been some encouraging signs. In 2015, Rep. David Byrd (R – Waynesboro), offered a bill in the Tennessee Legislature to allow…
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How much of a problem is “fake news,” really? According to a discussion on the issue at the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, the U.S. media environment is in poor shape and has damaged its reputation with Americans. Among other things, the panel moderated by WMAL radio host Larry O’Connor talked about media coverage in…
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Public schools will get free help from the National Rifle Association (NRA), said Wayne LaPierre, the NRA executive vice president, speaking on the first day of the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland. “Evil walks among us, and God help us if we don’t harden our schools and protect our kids,” said LaPierre, speaking to thousands of attendees at the annual gathering of thousands of conservative leaders, activists and journalists from across the country.
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A seething Dana Loesch – outspoken NRA spokesperson and longtime conservative activist – took the legacy media head-on in a fiery speech Thursday morning provocatively titled, “Media Love Mass Shootings.” Reflecting on her appearance at Wednesday evening’s town hall about the mass shooting, produced by CNN, Loesch said: I want to make this super obvious point. The government has proven that they cannot keep you safe. And yet, some people want all of us to disarm. You heard that town hall last night. They cheered the confiscation of firearms. And it was over 5,000 people. I had to have a security detail to get out. I wouldn’t be able to exit that if I didn’t have a private security detail. There were people rushing the stage and screaming, ‘burn her.’ And I came there to talk solutions and I still am going to continue that conversation on solutions as the NRA has been doing since before I was alive. But the government can’t keep you safe. And some people want us to give up our firearms and rely soley on the protection of the same government that has already failed us numerous times to keep us safe. And then, they also called Trump…
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Ambassador John Bolton, the firebrand Republican whom George W. Bush famously tapped to serve as the United States’ envoy to the United Nations via recess appointment, endorsed Dr. Mark Green’s campaign to represent the people of the 7th Congressional District, replacing Representative Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Thursday. “Dr. Mark Green has served on the front lines of the War on Terror as a flight surgeon, most notably on the mission to capture Saddam Hussein,” Bolton said in a statement; adding: His unique experiences as a veteran of the U.S. Army make him well-suited to make sound foreign policy and national security decisions that will keep America and her allies safe amid a multitude of global threats. I have full confidence in Dr. Green’s ability to lead and to be a strong voice in Congress. During the course of the campaign so far, the current state senator and congressional hopeful has garnered the support of Republicans and conservatives across the conservative movement. Ambassador Bolton joins prominent conservatives like Senator Ted Cruz and Reagan economist Dr. Arthur B. Laffer in endorsing Green. Dr. Green said, “Few people understand the global challenges facing our nation better than Ambassador Bolton. I’m honored to receive his endorsement,…
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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who was arrested on assault charges Wednesday, released a statement on Thursday that, according to WKRN, said, in part “I apologize to the community for the distraction that this accusation has caused. I completely deny the allegations and have faith that the legal process will result in a positive resolution.” “News 2 reached out to all 12 Williamson County School Board Members for comment. Only one got back to us and directed us to the District Communications Director. Several board members have spoken out on social media,” WKRN reported. Looney has not been placed on administrative leave by the Williamson County Schools Board of Education. Three of the board members who have made public comments on Facebook appear to be strongly supportive of Looney. According to WKRN: Anne McGraw, who serves District 4 wrote on her Facebook, “I cannot, and will not, comment on the incident at Franklin High School this week other than to say that knowing what I know, I’m 100 percent in support of Dr. Looney and his leadership in our district. The official statement issued by Williamson County Schools is below for those who have yet to see it. I expect…
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The “Medical Cannabis Act” sponsored in the Tennessee House by Rep. Jeremy Faison (R-Cosby), was officially opposed by the Cocke County Legislative Body (CLB), the bill sponsor’s home county, during its monthly meeting Tuesday evening. The CLB added to the agenda that night and later passed a resolution “To Urge The General Assembly To Oppose SB1710/HB1749,” the “Medical Cannabis Act,” by a vote of 8 ayes, 2 passes, 3 nays and 1 absent, the Cocke County Clerk’s office told The Tennessee Star. The Resolution recognizes that marijuana is a Schedule I controlled substance according the U.S. Controlled Substance Act and that Faison’s “Medical Cannabis Act” would legalize cannabis products in a multitude of forms in the State of Tennessee. Calling it out as a “violation of the Federal Controlled Substances Act,” the CLB resolution concluded it “is not in favor of the passage of the ‘Medical Cannabis Act’ SB1710/HB1749.” The legalization of cannabis is a controversial one from the perspective of its potential medicinal benefits as well as its recreational uses, and is often defended under the U.S. Constitution’s Amendment X “Powers not delegated, reserved to State and people respectively.” Proponents of legalizing the drug even for medical purposes often…
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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi suggested this week that “mowing the grass” near the U.S.-Mexico border so that illegal immigrants can’t be smuggled through thick vegetation would be a more effective measure to secure the country than President Trump’s proposed border wall.
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On Wednesday, Klein Bussell, the law firm retained by the Metro Legal Department to evaluate an ethics complaint filed against the Mayor one week after she admitted to her extramarital affair, concluded that the Metro Board of Ethical Conduct, “lacks jurisdiction to examine alleged violations of Metropolitan Government executive orders.” The report was crafted by three of the firm’s partners, all of whom worked in the Metro Legal Department under previous Democratic administrations. Saul Solomon was Director of Law for the City of Nashville from 2012 to 2015 under former Mayor Karl Dean. Kevin C. Klein worked as an attorney in the Metro Legal Department from 2003 to 2012, first under former Mayor Bill Purcell, and subsequently under former Mayor Dean, as his bio at the Klein Bussell website explains: In 2003, Kevin came to work for then-Director of Law Karl Dean at the Nashville Department of Law. He spent the next nine years in the trenches, investigating claims, conducting discovery, taking depositions, trying cases, and briefing and arguing appeals. During that time, Kevin got dozens, if not hundreds, of cases dismissed before trial with no payment to the plaintiff, won numerous jury and bench trials, and successfully briefed and…
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A judge has signed off on search warrants for the electronic equipment of Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and retired Metro Nashville Police Sgt. Rob Forrest. On January 31, Barry admitted that she had conducted a two-year-long extramarital affair with Forrest, who served as her bodyguard. “Authorities believe that Forrest took two photos of a nude woman who is believed to be Barry on his police department-issued cell phone. He allegedly sent the pictures to himself to his MNPD email,” WSMV reported on Thursday. “Police also found there could be deleted phone logs and hundreds of deleted chats between Forrest and Barry on at least one of the devices that were being searched,” WSMV noted, adding: The warrants specifically asked for records from a silver Apple iPhone 6s Plus and two black Apple iPhone 7 Plus devices. The warrants were approved on Feb. 16 by Criminal Court Judge Steve Dozier and were returned on Thursday to the Davidson County Criminal Court Clerk’s office. “Within the search warrant, a special agent with the TBI mentions an email sent from Sgt. Forrest’s work email address that included a photo of a nude female lying on the bed with a black purse next to her,”…
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When asked his opinion about whether the Mayor’s leadership credibility has been damaged by the Mayor’s two year extramarital affair and details like pictures of the Mayor interacting with her lover’s family while the affair was on-going, Metro Councilman Steve Glover responded with his trademark candor: I am not qualified to speak about the city’s view of her credibility; I will simply say that if it were me dealing with this issue, I would question if I could continue to lead with this cloud hanging over my head. On-going investigations may show that the “cloud” of the Mayor’s affair implicates members of her staff who arranged publicly financed travel for the Mayor and Sgt. Forrest, facilitating the adultery and providing opportunities for them to be alone together. The Mayor has expressed confidence that an investigation into the expenditure of public funds will find that all trips were related to city business and that police department policy mandating her security detail means that those funds would have been spent regardless of whether or not it was Sgt. Forrest providing her security coverage. The Star has asked Sean Braisted, the Mayor’s Director of Communications, Police Chief Anderson and Don Aaron, Public Affairs Manager for…
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UPDATE (1:25 p.m): The Tennessee Star has obtained a photo of what it believes to be the original affidavit of complaint in the case of the State of Tennessee vs. Dr. Mike Looney, which can be seen below: 12:30 p.m. Late Thursday morning, WKRN reported that, according to an affidavit, Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney, who was arrested Wednesday on assault charges as a result of this incident, “grabbed” a female high school student experiencing a psychological emergency at Franklin High School on Tuesday “by her arm and pulled her from a chair before escorting her to his personal vehicle.” “According to an affidavit, the teen’s mother requested her daughter be taken to the hospital. At some point, according to the report, Looney placed himself between an officer and the student and said the teen would be taken to his office,” WKRN reported, adding: Dr. Looney reportedly told the student he would not have a scene at school and told her to stop crying. The report states Looney then grabbed the teen by her arm and pulled her from a chair before escorting her to his personal vehicle. The teen’s…
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Nineteen of the 27 Republicans in the Tennessee State Senate endorsed Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) on Wednesday for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate over a potential candidacy of Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who said in September he would not seek a third term but has indicated over the past week he is having “second thoughts.” The Tennesseean identified the 19 state senators who endorsed Blackburn: Sen. Paul Bailey, Sparta Sen. Mike Bell, Riceville Sen. Janice Bowling, Tullahoma Sen. Rusty Crowe Johnson City Sen. Mark Green, Clarksville Sen. Dolores Gresham, Somerville Sen. Ferrell Haile, Gallatin Sen. Joey Hensley, Hohenwald Sen. Jack Johnson, Franklin Sen. Brian Kelsey, Germantown Sen. Bill Ketron, Murfreesboro Sen. Jon Lundberg, Bristol Sen. Becky Duncan Massey, Knoxville Sen. Frank Niceley, Strawberry Plains Sen. Mark Pody, Lebanon Sen. Kerry Roberts, Springfield Sen. John Stevens, Huntingdon Sen. Ken Yager, Kingston “Among the initial group of Senate Republicans to not endorse Blackburn on Wednesday were Lt. Gov. Randy McNally of Oak Ridge and Majority Leader Mark Norris of Collierville,” The Tennessean noted, adding: Later in the morning, McNally posted his endorsement of Blackburn on Facebook, saying, “Marsha Blackburn proved her leadership ability in the House. It’s time to put…
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Rep. Diane Black, hoping to stand out in a crowded field for Tennessee governor, released a comprehensive blueprint Wednesday for tackling the opioids crisis, saying her training as a licensed nurse gives her a unique perspective into a problem that is ravaging communities.
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World-famous guitar maker Gibson, whose instruments have been played by the likes of John Lennon and Elvis Presley, is facing serious financial problems that threaten its very existence. The mythical company — in Nashville, Tennessee since 1894 — on Monday brought in a new financial director, Benson Woo, to try to rescue the ailing group. Gibson…
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Four liberal political action committees (PACs) that only support Democrats gave more than $393 million in independent campaign contributions during the 2016 election cycle, an amount that collectively was seven times more than that reported by the NRA.
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By Natalia Castro President Donald Trump’s infrastructure plan won’t just be looking to refurbish the nation’s bridges and roads but is also aiming at reforming our nation’s educational institutions. To combat some of the most significant problems within our labor force and education system, President Trump has included a provision in his infrastructure plan that could increase access to non-college job training programs without increasing spending. As the legislative outline for Trump’s infrastructure proposal explains, the American workforce is integral to a properly running country and economy. But with nearly seven million individuals around the country looking for work and six million unfilled jobs, America’s skills gaps are leaving workers behind. Despite jobs growth and decreasing unemployment, while a disproportionate share of Americans go to college, jobs that require more than a high school diploma but less than a bachelor’s degree, called middle-skilled jobs, are not being filled. In states like Iowa, more than half of all available jobs are middle-skilled jobs, which leaves both jobs unfilled and skilled workers unemployed. In Palm Beach County, Florida jobs for welders and mechanics are going continually unfilled. Jeff Ostrowski of the Palm Beach Post notes how strange this phenomenon is in their area, considering top…
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“There’s one campaign and only one campaign” that colluded with Russians in the 2016 U.S. presidential election and it wasn’t President Donald Trump’s, Corey Lewandowski claimed during a Monday interview on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle.” “It’s very clear. I was there before Donald Trump ever came down that escalator.
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Rep. Devin Nunes is trying to determine the breadth and reach of the unverified Russia-Trump dossier inside the U.S. government, especially among senior leaders in the Barack Obama administration during the 2016 election. The chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence released a letter on Tuesday that is being sent to as many as two dozen senior leaders in the Trump and Obama administrations.
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Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich said America should begin arming schoolteachers and administrators to protect their students from mass shootings. The first step is to arm people within the schools and give them a fighting chance, Gingrich said Tuesday on “Fox & Friends,” in response to a question on what can be done to stop the next mass shooter.
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Republican National Committee (RNC) officials this week tweaked a Democratic candidate for Congress in Pennsylvania for knocking President Donald Trump’s tax cut reforms even as polls show its popularity on the rise. Democrat Conor Lamb (pictured above), who is seeking an open seat in the House of Representatives in a special election next month, made his marks during a debate with Republican nominee Rick Saccone.
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Williamson County Schools Superintendent Mike Looney was arrested on assault charges Wednesday. Late Wednesday, the Franklin Police Department issued this “statement in response to multiple media inquiries regarding today’s arrest of Dr. Mike Looney, Williamson County Schools Superintendent:” Yesterday, Franklin Police Officers and paramedics were dispatched to Franklin High School for a reported psychological emergency. While working with the student, the student’s mother, and school staff to transport the student to the hospital, Dr. Mike Looney, Williamson County Schools Superintendent, abruptly entered the conference room, grabbed the student by her arm, and forced her out of the school and to his vehicle. Officers intervened and had on-scene paramedics transport the student to the emergency room for evaluation. Today, those officers consulted with the Williamson County Magistrate, who issued an arrest warrant, charging Dr. Looney with Assault. Dr. Looney surrendered himself at the Williamson County Jail after Franklin Police notified him of the warrant. Looney, charged with assault, is free on the $1,500 bond set by the Magistrate. He is due in court 03/08/18 at 1:00 pm. Looney has served as Williamson County Superintendent of Schools since 2009. The unusual circumstances of the incident that resulted in Looney’s arrest raise several…
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Billy Graham, the American Christian evangelist who preached to millions around the world, has died at the age of 99. The evangelical leader prayed with and counseled the most powerful and well-known figures of the late twentieth century, including every U.S. president from Harry Truman to Barack Obama. Graham was a charismatic leader, religion experts say,…
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Veteran journalist and radio talk show host Brian Wilson was named the permanent host of Nashville’s Morning News, which airs weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m, on Tuesday. The announcement was made on-air at 8:45 a.m. by Supertalk 99.7 FM WTN program director and mid-day host Dan Mandis. “In 30 years of radio I’ve never seen a new host accepted in a new city the way Brian has been accepted,” Mandis said. “I am thrilled to be here. I love Nashville. WTN is like a family. Very much like Nashville. I love working with Michael DelGiorno and Dan Mandis, and the crew on the morning show, producer Chris Webber, traffic reporter Michael Vance and news anchor Ken Weaver,” Wilson added. Wilson stayed after the end of his program to appear briefly on the Michael DelGiorno Show, which airs on WTN from 9:00 am to noon on weekdays. When he signed on at 9:06 am, Del Giorno said he was excited to have Brian Wilson as WTN’s new morning man. “I am thankful Brian has accepted the job,” DelGiorno added. Cumulus Media, which owns WTN, issued a press release announcing Wilson’s hiring simultaneous to the on-air announcement by Mandis. You can…
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The Tennessee State Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 1675, both of which were sponsored by State Senator Mark Green (R-Clarksville). “I was honored to sponsor these two bills to help our veterans who have given sacrificially to serve our country. Senate Bill 10 and Senate Bill 1675 both correct injustices in our state law, and I’m glad the Senate voted unanimously to pass them. I look forward to the passage of these bills in the House under the leadership of Rep. Tilman Goins and Rep. Joe Pitts,” Senator Green said in a statement. Senate Bill 10 finally exempts severely disabled veterans who receive, as gifts, modified vehicles from the US Department of Affairs from paying sales taxes and registration fees: This bill exempts a new or used motor vehicle that is sold, given, or donated to a veteran or active-duty service member of the armed services from any applicable sales and use tax if: (1) The veteran or service member has a service-connected disability; (2) The veteran or service member receives a grant from the United States department of veterans affairs; and (3) The grant is used to provide or assist in providing the vehicle to…
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New Year’s Eve in Nashville in 2017 set a record for direct visitor spending as a record percentage of international visitors, and visitors stayed longer, contributing to the growth in visitor spending.
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The following are the full remarks as prepared by Carol Swain for delivery at Tuesday evening’s Resign Now! Megan Barry Rally: We are here because leadership matters and so does good government. We believe our city and state and our children would be best served by the immediate resignation of Democrat Mayor Megan Barry. Her illicit affair with a married subordinate and the on-going investigations concerning her abuse of power and the people’s pocketbook make her unsuitable to carry out the duties of the office. We are not here to judge her extramarital affair, for which she has apologized and asked for the forgiveness of God and the people of Nashville. Mayor Barry correctly stated God will forgive her, and many of us have already done so. I count myself as one of these. Forgiveness is an expectation and duty of Christians, if we expect God to forgive us of our sins. We are all sinners in need of a Savior. We can ask for and expect forgiveness when we confess and turn from sin. But, in forgiveness, we are left with the messy details of our wrongdoing and must deal with unexpected and unintended consequences of unethical and sometimes…
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