Russian internet trolls not only used social media accounts to promote President Donald Trump’s election bid, they also operated accounts supporting the candidacies of Sen. Bernie Sanders and Jill Stein. Special Counsel Robert Mueller issued an indictment for 13 Russian nationals affiliated with three Russian companies suspected of interfering in the 2016 election. …
Read the full story
The judge in the trial of the man accused of planning the bombing of the USS Cole on Friday shut down the proceedings over his inability to get defense lawyers back to the death-penalty case. Air Force Col. Vance Spath has for months now disagreed with the Chief Defense Counsel for Military Commissions, Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker, over the general’s decision and authority that released three lawyers of record from the case in October when they asked to resign over an ethical issue. On Nov. 1, after Baker refused to return veteran death-penalty defender Rick Kammen and civilian attorneys Rosa Eliades and Mary Spears to the case — the judge sentenced the general to 21 days of confinement in his quarters for disobeying an order.
Read the full story
LifeZette reported on the cancellation at Staten Island’s P.S. 65, also called The Academy of Innovative Learning. The much-anticipated dance was pulled from the New York school’s schedule over administrator concerns that the event could violate the Department of Education’s gender-neutral policy. The event has now been officially rescheduled — with some notable changes.
Read the full story
President Trump said Friday he was heading to Florida to meet with victims of the school shooting massacre there this week, as Washington struggles with how to prevent repeated episodes of deadly gun violence. “I will be leaving for Florida today to meet with some of the bravest people on earth – but people whose lives have been shattered.”
Read the full story
By Bo Carr There is much discussion about healthcare nationally and regionally as questions surround the future of the Affordable Care Act (Obama-care), state expansion of Medicaid, strategies to solve the opioid crisis, and the shuttering of area hospitals. But December 31, 2017 marked the end of a benefit for state employees, leaving educators, in particular, uncovered and with few options. Most teachers do not realize that Medicare and other major medical insurance policies do not cover the custodial care most seniors will require, like home health care, respite care, adult day care, assisted living, nursing home, or hospice care. Tennessee’s Dave Ramsey writes in his blog, “As people age or become ill, they sometimes need help doing daily tasks like getting dressed, bathing and more. Long-term care (LTC) provides people with those services—but it’s expensive. According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the estimated cost for end-of-life care in 2016 ranged between $217,820 and $341,651. Most health and disability insurances won’t cover long-term care, but long-term care insurance will.” Teachers accessing the state’s 2018 health benefits website, partnersforhealthtn.gov, will find group insurance plans like major medical, dental, and disability. Long Term Care, which was once an affordable, accessible plan available…
Read the full story
A federal grand jury investigating Russian meddling in the 2016 election on Friday indicted 13 Russian nationals including 12 employees of a St. Petersburg, Russia-based company that carries out online influence operations on behalf of Moscow. The indictment alleges that Internet Research Agency, a propaganda outfit tied to the Kremlin, engaged “in operations to interfere with elections and political processes” during the 2016 U.S. presidential elections.
Read the full story
Former Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-TN-08) announced late Friday afternoon that he is withdrawing from the race for the Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate in Tennessee. Fincher’s withdrawal leaves Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) as the only viable candidate in the GOP race, unless Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) decides to change his mind and reverse his decision not to run for renomination. A recent poll by the Senate Conservatives Fund showed that Blackburn handily beats Corker should he enter the race by a 49 percent to 26 percent margin. In his statement of withdrawal, Fincher encouraged Corker to get in the race. “The party must get behind a candidate that can win in November and stop Democrat Phil Bredesen, who would be a rubber stamp for the Chuck Schumer liberal agenda,” he said in a statement. “For that reason, I believe Senator Bob Corker should continue to serve in the U.S. Senate, and stand with the President to fight for Tennessee families,” Fincher added in the statement. “My campaign has always been about what’s best for Tennessee. Tennessee families need a strong conservative voice in the senate, someone who will stand with President Trump and lead the Republican Party forward,” Fincher…
Read the full story
Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee donated $500 to Megan Barry’s Mayoral campaign in May 2015, according to public records obtained by The Tennessee Star. The Williamson County businessman’s donation of $500 to Friends of Megan Barry on May 21, 2015 came two months before the August 2015 election for Mayor of Metro Nashville/Davidson County between Barry, David Fox, and real estate developer Bill Freeman. Though the race was technically “non-partisan,” the battle quickly became highly partisan, with progressive Democrats rallying around Barry, conservatives and Republicans supporting Fox, and more moderate Democrats gravitating to Freeman. No candidate gained enough votes in the general election to claim the mayor’s job, so a runoff between the top two vote getters–Barry and Fox–was held the following month in September. Barry defeated Fox in that runoff, 55 percent to 45 percent, and was sworn in as Mayor of Nashville/Davidson County on September 25, 2015. The Lee campaign confirmed Lee’s $500 donation to Barry, and provided The Star with a statement on the issue late Thursday. “Bill doesn’t support Megan Barry. A few years ago a client asked him to give $500 to her campaign and he did. Politicians make political decisions. Businessmen – including Donald Trump…
Read the full story
GOP Senate candidate and current Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07) told Brian Wilson on WTN SuperTalk 99.7 Thursday that she is in it to win it when he asked about the possibility of Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) ‘un-retiring’ and running for re-election this year in the Republican primary. Brian Wilson set up the phone interview, saying: “Yesterday, there was a bit of news about Bob Corker, who said he might ‘un-retire,’ and I was on record saying that I didn’t think that was right. If you say you’re going to retire, then you’re going to retire, because other people are then going to jump in the race. “This effected, of course, the Senate campaign of one Marsha Blackburn,” Wilson continued, “who joins us on the line right now.” After he graciously welcomed Blackburn on the air, and the niceties were exchanged, Wilson got right down to business. “Here’s the thing – what was your reaction when you – after you’ve jumped into the race, started spending money on a campaign, and started doing everything that you should do to run for the office, that was going to be vacated. What was your reaction when you learned that Bob corker was now, all of a sudden,…
Read the full story
Planning is underway for a major overhaul of Interstate 440 in Davidson County, a project that is expected to take three years. The Tennessee Department of Transportation began requesting bids in January for what is called “Design-Build,” sort of a streamlined turn-key project. Contractors bid for the project, which involves the design and construction of large projects. For roadways, that can include design, right-of-way acquisition, regulatory permit approvals, utility relocation, and construction. “This is not going to be a typical low-bid project,” said Kathryn Schulte, TDOT community relations officer for Region 3 (part of Middle Tennessee). “Proposals/plans are currently being developed by the competing design-build teams.” The winning contract will be announced in the summer of 2018, according to TDOT’s timeline. The timeline does not say when work would begin. The plan calls for “removing substandard pavement and widening portions of the 7.6-mile corridor to provide three travel lanes in each direction” between Interstate 40 and Interstate 24. The project is intended to address congestion and improve safety.” The design calls for replacement of deteriorated concrete pavement with asphalt and removal of the grassy elevated median. Other components include ramp widening, construction of new noise walls and replacement of light…
Read the full story
Sen. Ted Cruz said Thursday that if Republicans pass an immigration plan that allows citizenship they will lose the majority in Congress this November. “Mark my words, if Republican majorities in Congress pass citizenship for millions of people, do amnesty, I think it is quite likely we will lose both houses of Congress,” Mr. Cruz said.
Read the full story
“You won’t find my family members on any rolls, and I’m not enrolled in a tribe,” Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said in an apparent surprise appearance at the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. She addressed more than 500 tribal delegates there.
Read the full story
Former Trump White House official Dr. Sebastian Gorka, says a senior FBI agent told him that the “7th floor of the FBI looks at the Trump White House as the enemy.” Gorka joined me on my radio talk show on WMAL in Washington DC this week.
Read the full story
Puzzlingly, women in countries with greater gender equality are less likely to take degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). New research delves into this ‘gender equality paradox’. Image credits Eryk Salvaggio.
Read the full story
Three digital billboards along Nashville’s I-24 near downtown reading simply, “We love our mayor” were quietly removed from rotation Friday, February 2 after the buyer refused to disclose their identity. The billboards appeared one day after embattled Mayor Megan Barry admitted to her years-long affair with SGT Rob Forrest, her bodyguard. Outfront Media’s senior director of communications, Carly Zipp, told The Tennessean that the reason for their removal was due to a lack of “proper attribution,” which Tennessee Law – and company policy – require for political advertisements: Zipp said the agency that facilitated the billboard purchase was San Francisco-based SF Media Communications Inc. But she said the media company did not disclose their client. Zipp did not comment when asked how Outfront Media became aware of the problem or why the billboard was allowed to go up in the first place. SF Media Consultants has a history working in the music industry, one of Nashville’s staple brands. According to its website, the firm has done advertising for Big Machine Records, Capitol Records, EMI, and Universal Music Group as well as big-name artists such as Taylor Swift, Garth Brooks, Lady Antebellum and Florida Georgia Line. Lauren Anderson, senior vice president…
Read the full story
A new Democratic poll shows President Donald Trump in a tie or leading some of his rivals in 2020. The rebound is remarkable, as Trump was suffering from soggy re-election numbers in 2017. It indicates the economy could be helping the president and Republicans in their quest to attract independent voters in this year’s midterm elections — and then in the crucial 2020 contest.
Read the full story
Christians have earned a notorious reputation for being “nice” — at times, too nice. Some have come to see Christians as easy targets, suckers to be exploited, people to be made fun of or mocked. They believe we’re too stupid, too fearful, or too “nice” to decline even the most unreasonable of requests.
Read the full story
Former Trump National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn pled guilty to providing false information to FBI agent in December and the more we learn about the events leading up to that plea, the more it stinks to high-heaven. Byron York’s recent article at the Washington Examiner reveals that then-FBI DIrector James Comey testified that the agents who conducted the interview of Flynn did not think he had lied to them.
Read the full story
As the nation grapples with yesterday’s massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, stories of heroism have already emerged — stories that offer a ray of hope for a grieving community and for all of us. One of those stories concerns assistant football coach Aaron Feis.
Read the full story
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos said Congress needs to address mental health problems that lead to violence among students in the wake of Wednesday’s deadly mass shooting at a Florida high school. “I’d like to broaden the question and broaden the discussion and say Congress needs to be holding hearings on these issues,” Ms. DeVos said Thursday on “The Hugh Hewitt Show.” “We’ve seen lots of discussion on this every time we have an incident. … We need to have a conversation at the level where lawmakers can actually impact the future.”
Read the full story
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – At the first meeting of the Metro Council Special Committee established “to investigate the circumstances involving the travel and other expenses including overtime expenses potentially related to the Mayor’s extramarital affair to determine if there was any improper use of public money” held Thursday, the seven members voted unanimously to use outside legal counsel from recommendations to be made by Vice Mayor David Briley, but rely on the Metropolitan Government Internal Auditor rather than using outside accounting professionals. The resolution (page 41) passed by the Council on February 6, 2018, required that the Vice Mayor establish within seven days a Special Committee comprised of between three and seven members. The seven members Briley appointed to the Special Committee were Burkley Allen, Erica Gilmore, Brenda Haywood, Mina Johnson, Bob Mendes, Russ Pulley and Robert Swope. Pulley and Allen were the only two to vote against the formation of the Special Committee, with Allen going on to be elected the Chairman of the Special Committee. The resolution allowed the Special Committee, for the purpose of accomplishing its investigation, to engage the services of outside legal and accounting professionals, but the Special Committee opted instead to keep the audit function…
Read the full story
The immigration grand bargain the Senate will vote on as early as Thursday afternoon would “invite a mad rush of illegality,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Thursday. Mr. Sessions said the deal would grant a future amnesty for illegal immigrants who haven’t even arrived in the U.S. yet, so those who can get into the countryby June “can’t be deported.”
Read the full story
Tennessee athletic director Phillip Fulmer confirmed that the football program’s decision to part ways with former running backs coach Robert Gillespie wasn’t mutual, but both sides handled it professionally. Fulmer, who was speaking at the Big Orange TipOff Club in Knoxville via GoVols247 on Wednesday, revealed that Gillespie “didn’t like” being dismissed from the Vols’ coaching staff, but understood that it was a matter of “big boy business.”
Read the full story
Former Pilot Flying J president Mark Hazelwood was found guilty by a jury on Thursday of three out of the four federal charges brought against him – including conspiracy to commit mail/wire fraud and witness tampering – in connection with his role in a multi-million dollar rebate scam to bilk customers out of a total of $56 million. He was found not guilty on the remaining charge of wire fraud. Additionally, former Pilot vice president Scott Wombold and former direct sales person Heather Jones were found guilty of a single count of mail/wire fraud and wire fraud, respectively. The trio will learn their sentencing on June 27th in Chattanooga. Pilot Flying J is the 14th largest privately held company in the United States. A majority of the company’s stock is owned by the Haslam family, which includes company founder Big Jim Haslam and his sons, company CEO Jimmy Haslam and Gov. Bill Haslam. Earlier this year, Pilot Flying J announced it had completed a deal to sell a controlling interest in the company to Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway company. WBIR was outside the courthouse and spoke to Hazelwood’s attorney, Rusty Hardin. Reacting to the verdict, he told reporters, “We continue to believe he’s…
Read the full story
Scientists suggested on Thursday a link between cancer and “ultra-processed” foods such as cookies, fizzy drinks and sugary cereals, though outside experts cautioned against reading too much into the study results. Researchers from France and Brazil used data from nearly 105,000 French adults who completed online questionnaires detailing their intake of 3,300 different food items.
Read the full story
Burkley Allen and Russ Pulley, appointed along with five other Metro Council members by Vice-Mayor David Briley, will form a Special Committee to investigate the use of public money by Nashville Mayor Megan Barry during her two year extramarital affair with Metro police officer and head of her security detail, Sgt. Robert Forrest. The Metro Nashville Council resolution establishing the Special Committee restricts the investigation to the expenditure of public funds: A Special Committee to investigate the circumstances involving travel and other expenses, including overtime expenses, potentially related to the Mayor’s admitted improprieties involving an employee of the Metropolitan Government to determine if there was any improper use of public money. While the Special Committee is not charged with looking into the Mayor’s potential ethics violations, Briley did suggest that the Committee coordinate their inquiry with the Board of Ethical Conduct and the Metro Audit Committee which is also investigating the Mayor’s affair. With regard to selecting members for the Special Committee, Vice-Mayor David Briley stated that he was looking at “people who have demonstrated neutrality in terms of the politics and people who are open-minded in terms of looking at the facts fairly.” Last week, Special Committee members Burkley…
Read the full story
According to a Tennessee Star commenter earlier this week, while Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her bodyguard, Sgt. Rob Forrest, were still taking luxury trips abroad and quickie overnights stateside, not only did the thoughtful Mayor make a surprise visit to Sgt. Forrest’s father-in-law in the hospital, but she also attended his funeral nine days later, and get this, hugged Sgt. Forrest’s grieving wife. And being one of the family in a twisted sort of way, the Mayor attended Sgt. Forrest’s daughter’s wedding: Not only did she visit him in the hospital, but she also attended the man’s funeral and was seen hugging her lover’s grieving wife, and family. It’s also no secret that she was a guest at her lover’s daughter’s wedding as well. During her public confession, the Mayor let slip that the two-year long affair with Sgt. Forrest that she had worked so hard to conceal, became known somehow to their respective spouses – “Barry said the relationship was discovered during conversations between their spouses and private discussions.” Between getting caught by the jilted spouses and getting counseled by reporter Phil Williams who disclosed that he had an “incredible” source, the Mayor was left with no option…
Read the full story
Main Street continues to flourish under the Trump administration. The National Federation of Independent Business reports that optimism is at a 45-year high among America’s small businesses. The “Small Business Optimism Index” – a monthly gauge of sentiment among the owners – has broken the record for the measurement, established 45 years ago.
Read the full story
The Homeland Security Department said Wednesday that the immigration plan sponsored by Sen. John McCain and being backed as Democrats’ chief solution for illegal immigrant “Dreamers” would grant criminals a path to citizenship and protect high school gang members from deportation.
Read the full story
State Senator and congressional hopeful Dr. Mark Green (R-Clarksville) announced Wednesday he is forming a rural task force for his congressional campaign to identify issues and suggest solutions for the unique challenges of living in rural Tennessee. Former DCS Commissioner Dr. Page Walley will lead the effort, and joining him will be elected officials, business leaders, and community leaders in the rural counties across the 7th congressional district. “As Tennessee continues to grow, our rural communities are facing serious challenges. Having grown up on a dirt road in a small rural town, I have seen those challenges firsthand and look forward to working with this task force to find solutions,” Dr. Green said in a statement. “It’s a privilege to have been asked to chair this task force addressing the special needs that our rural counties and communities are facing in the 7th District,” Dr. Walley added. “When Mark spoke with me about my original interest in considering a run for Congress, I shared that we cannot pass by the needs and hopes of our rural families and farmers. I am proud that he not only has this same, deep conviction but intends to make sure we lift up the voices and values…
Read the full story
People shouldn’t be forced to surrender their First Amendment right to decide for themselves what organizations they support just because they decide to work for the state, their local government or a public school.
Read the full story
President Donald Trump unveiled his plan Monday to fix what the White House describes as the “unacceptable state of disrepair” of the nation’s roads and bridges, but some experts warn it could turn into a costly and unneeded boondoggle to fix a problem that doesn’t really exist.
Read the full story
The chairman of the largest conservative caucus in the House said Wednesday that House Speaker Paul D. Ryan could lose his speakership if he bungles the immigration debate. Rep. Mark Meadows, who leads the Freedom Caucus and the Republican Study Committee, said there are ongoing conversations about new leadership in the House that aren’t necessarily focused Mr. Ryan, but his handling of the immigration debate will determine his future.
Read the full story
Iranian police arrested around 100 money changers on Wednesday as it scrambled to contain the decline of the rial, which has lost a quarter of its value in six months. A video by state broadcaster IRINN showed dozens of currency hawkers, who normally ply their trade across the road from the British embassy in central Tehran, being rounded up by police.
Read the full story
Five-time Grammy nominee, Hunter Hayes, releases the final installment of his mini-movie Pictures at a red carpet event at Regal Cinemas in Nashville, February 14.
Read the full story
Like a hypersonic bullet hitting another hypersonic bullet. A Hit! On February 5, during the Chinese midcourse ABM test, the interceptor hit the target missile in space. Pictured here: the exhaust plumes from the DN-3 rocket motor, suspended in the stratosphere for a spectacular show in the morning light.
Read the full story
This is not the verdict real estate developer Gerald Wolkoff was hoping for at all — and it’s almost certainly cringeworthy for many other owners of private property. But visual artists and their works of color, chaos and creativity have trumped the rights of a private building owner in New York.
Read the full story
When three different publishers announced last year they would all produce books about President Donald Trump’s faith, some wags took to social media to say — wow, those are going to be short books. But just because Trump has not made a habit of spending much time in church doesn’t mean there isn’t much to say about him and faith.
Read the full story
Republican leaders in Congress, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) have “moved on” from Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), who recently indicated he is having “second thoughts” about not running for re-election, and are now all-in behind Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN-07), who is the presumptive Republican nominee, The Washington Examiner reported on Wednesday: Top Republican leaders, including McConnell and Sen. Cory Gardner of Colorado, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, as well as senior Blackburn advisors, some of whom were working for Corker’s re-election campaign before he pulled the plug, are baffled by suggestions that the congresswoman is putting this race in jeopardy. She has hit all of the metrics set for her campaign, launched only after Corker bowed out last fall. Her fundraising is strong, she is organizing on the ground, and she has the consensus support of the Republican establishment in Washington and the conservative grassroots in Tennessee long unhappy with Corker. Blackburn also happens to be a woman. That matters because the Republican Party is lacking female candidates — capable or otherwise — in an election cycle in which the GOP’s biggest vulnerability is a weakness among educated, suburban white women — just like Blackburn. “We simply haven’t been involved…
Read the full story
We’ve all seen the commercials. Slim, healthy office workers in beautifully lit spaces happily standing at their desks, typing away on a keyboard or perhaps munching on an apple. Remember that old adage — that if something seems too good to be true it probably is? New research suggests the health claims that accompany the use of standing desks may fall squarely into that “too good to be true” category.
Read the full story
Among the balls, parades, and philanthropic works Mardi Gras krewes undertake throughout the year, one stands out as unique. Legion of Mars, a krewe named for the Roman god of war who fought only to secure the peace, was founded by a group of New Orleans JAG (judge advocate general) attorneys in 2013.
Read the full story
The Westminster Dog Show crowned a fluffy white Bichon Frise named Flynn Best in Show Tuesday over a diverse array of other four-legged options, concluding the Big Apple’s annual dogfest. Flynn’s cheeks beamed as he navigated the expanse of Madison Square Garden before a raucous crowd, most of which kept their seats for the big reveal after sitting through nearly four hours of competition.
Read the full story
Americans will spend approximately 1.8 billion dollars on candy this Valentine’s Day. And the sweet treat most often desired is chocolate! With colorful bags and heart-shaped boxes filled with chocolate hearts, bonbons, truffles, cremes, squares, dipped-fruits and more, this delectable and refined delicacy made from cocoa beans raises Valentine’s Day senses with passion and excitement for sharing highly anticipated affections.
Read the full story
by Richard Gunderman The year 2018 marks the 150th anniversary of one of the great courtships in American history, the wooing of an unenthusiastic 22-year-old Olivia Langdon by a completely smitten 32-year-old Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known as Mark Twain. As I first learned while visiting Twain’s hometown of Hannibal, Missouri in preparation for teaching “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” the contrasts between the two were indeed stark, and the prospects for their eventual union exceedingly poor. Olivia Langdon, known as Livy, was a thoroughly proper easterner, while Sam was a rugged man of the West. Livy came from a family that was rich and well-educated, while Sam had grown up poor and left school at age 12. She was thoroughly pious, while he was a man who knew how to smoke, drink and swear. On Valentine’s Day, their story is a reminder of the true meaning of love. Despite many challenges, once united, they never gave up on each other and enjoyed a fulfilling 34 years of marriage. The young Olivia Olivia Langdon was born in 1845 in Elmira, New York to a wealthy coal merchant. Her father, Jervis Langdon, was deeply religious but also highly progressive: He supported…
Read the full story
“Cash is king.” That economic saying is something Metro Nashville may be learning as the finance director warns the city cannot keep spending money as if it is minting it. Metro Finance Director Talia Lomax-O’dneal has warned department heads that they cannot request new spending measures in the 2018-2019 budget, The Tennessean reports. The city’s current $2.2 billion operating budget was a $122 million, a 5.9 percent increase over the previous year. The 2016-17 operating budget was a $121 million, a 6.1 percent increase over the previous year. Mayor Megan Barry’s current budget took Metro Nashville over the $2 billion mark for the first time. “Prudent financial management requires a periodic look for efficiencies and savings opportunities, and there are several fiscal challenges for the 2018 fiscal year,” Lomax-O’dneal said in her letter to department heads. Those “challenges” include tax collections that have returned to normal levels, dwindling reserve balances and increased debt payment obligations. Lomax-O’dneal’s letter failed to mention two issues, one a current budget “challenge,” and the other a potential “challenge.” The former is the $17.1 million lifeline the Metro Council voted last month to give Nashville General Hospital. The latter is the proposed $9 billion light rail…
Read the full story
NASHVILLE, Tennessee –House Bill 0108, the Heartbeat Report Bill, passed in the Tennessee House of Representatives on Monday by a vote of 74 to 20. “As amended, the Heartbeat Report Bill would require that the post-abortion report indicate the presence or absence of a heartbeat, would require that the Department of Health include in its annual report, the heartbeat presence statistics, would require that, if used, the ultrasound be offered to the mother of the baby to be killed,” the bill’s sponsor, State Rep. Micah Van Huss (R-Jonesborough) said on the floor of the House prior to the vote. The companion Senate Bill 0244 was referred to the Judiciary Committee, although it has not been scheduled on the committee calendar. Van Huss took up the mission more than a year ago to protect the unborn by introducing a Heartbeat Bill, which would prohibit abortion in the state of Tennessee from the point a fetal heartbeat is detected. As previously reported by The Tennessee Star, it became increasingly obvious that the bill in its original form would not pass the House Health Committee and was, therefore, amended. The amendment requires that “if an ultrasound is performed as part of the examination prior to…
Read the full story
U.S. President Donald Trump is sending a $4 trillion-plus budget request to Congress that includes money for a southern border wall and building up the military, but is projected to increase the federal deficit by more than $1 trillion. The plan does not include another $400 billion in stopgap spending over two years that was approved…
Read the full story
By Robert Romano Say, you’re a fiscal conservative. You think the federal government is spending too much of your hard-earned tax dollars and that the $20.7 trillion national debt is pushing it. You took a gander at the campaign brochures of each of the major parties in 2016, Democrats and Republicans, and discovered Republicans were actively campaigning on balancing the budget. So, you rolled the dice and as fortune would have it, the Republicans were elected to majorities in the House and Senate plus claiming the White House for only the fourth time since the Great Depression — the other times were 1953-54 and 2003-07 when they had all three. And, at least initially in 2017, it looked like this might finally be the time spending could actually be cut. President Donald Trump offered his first budget, which proposed increasing defense spending but cutting non-defense and other mandatory spending, with a full $4.5 trillion of overall spending cuts over ten years. Fast forward a year later, and although Congress did agree to increase defense spending, it was unwilling to cut spending elsewhere. The result is $165 billion of defense spending increases and $131 billion of non-defense over the next two years. The…
Read the full story
Former Tennessee Chancery Court Judge Bob Corlew, a candidate for the Republican nomination in the 6th Congressional District, released a statement today “regarding the recent controversy of the flattery of North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong, the sister of North Korea’s brutal totalitarian leader Kim Jong Un, by CNN and other mainstream media outlets.” “Instead of highlighting our American athletes that are competing in the Olympics, CNN and other mainstream media outlets are pushing out stories with headlines that fawn over North Korea and their totalitarian regime,” Corlew said in the statement. The statement continued: “I have been to the Indo-Pacific region many times and have heard first-hand accounts about the looming threat that hangs over South Korea and Japan every day. This effort by major news networks to glorify this violent and repressive regime is completely unacceptable. This should be a time of national unity as we cheer on our fellow Americans who are representing our country in the Olympic games.” Bob Corlew has been to the Indo-Pacific region numerous times in his role as International President of Lions Club International, the world’s largest service club organization serving in over 200 countries. Corlew served as International President in 2016 and 2017.…
Read the full story
President Donald Trump is dealing simultaneously with Congress on illegals within the United States and with Mexico (as well as with Canada) on trade in the negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Why not wrap the two issues of illegals (mostly from Mexico) and trade with Mexico in one deal?
Read the full story