The National Portrait Gallery in Washington has unveiled the official portaits of former U.S. President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama. For his portrait, the former president chose Kehinde Wiley – a Yale University-trained painter famous for his vibrant portraits of African Americans.
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Dripping with the arrogance of a moralizing former ethics-compliance-officer–turned-Metro-Council-member-at-large-looking-to-become-mayor, which is what the politically ambitious Megan Barry was in 2014, she issued her assessment of Judge Casey Moreland’s credibility to continue in his role as a judge: [he] has the right to articulate his own version of events and to defend his actions, but unless he can do so far more persuasively than what we have heard to this point, he should resign. Now that’s a prescient statement by Megan Barry if there ever was one! And in 2017, as Mayor, she didn’t let up on her criticism of the judge who among other matters involving public corruption and abuse of his office, had been accused of having sex with women who could benefit from a reduced sentence: I think you always want to be concerned about when people are in power in making sure that they don’t abuse that power. Amazingly, the Mayor made this statement while actively engaged in her own affair with a subordinate Metro employee and shortly after returning to Nashville from a publicly financed out-of-town overnighter with her security detail lover. Suggestions have been made that the Mayor and her bodyguard’s publicly financed travel for trysts…
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President Donald Trump threatened retaliatory measures against US trade partners Monday, accusing them of “getting away with murder.” “We cannot continue to be taken advantage of by other countries,” Trump told cabinet, state and local officials gathered at the White House for a meeting on infrastructure.
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With relentless attacks coming from oil refiners and powerful lawmakers on Capitol Hill, ethanol industry leaders this week are clinging to President Trump and casting him as their unwavering ally – even though key members of his administration are looking at regulatory changes that could hurt the biofuels sector.
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President Trump warned Tuesday that the current debate on DACA would be the final opportunity for Congress to solve the problem before the March 5 deadline. “Negotiations on DACA have begun. Republicans want to make a deal and Democrats say they want to make a deal.
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Since Mayor Megan Barry admitted to her two year adulterous relationship with Sgt. Robert Forrest, head of her security detail and an active duty Metro police officer more details are known about the opportunities city-funded travel provided to facilitate their affair. From her first statement admitting to the affair, the Mayor has insisted that “how much and how often” she was covered by security, including her travel with Sgt. Forrest, was dictated and authorized by police department policy even though it has been documented that prior to her affair, the Mayor “routinely traveled without security.” The Star has asked Sean Braisted, the Mayor’s Director of Communications, Police Chief Anderson and Don Aaron, Public Affairs Manager for the Police Department, for a copy of the policy that the Mayor has insisted is operational. There has been no response from either the Mayor’s office or the police department and no written policy has been provided. During an extended interview, Police Chief Anderson has stated a preference that the mayor have security at all times because“you are always the mayor and you should be secured appropriately” but has also admitted that “at this time that’s not something that is feasible.” What’s not clear from the…
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Hubris alert! No shame! Too big to fall! If it isn’t bad enough that Mayor Moonbeam Barry is using our money to travel out-of-town and overseas to consummate her trysts with bodyguard Sgt. Robert Forrest, she visited, hugged and smiled with Sgt. Forrest’s father-in-law–at least according to what one Tennessee Star reader says is a now deleted October 2017 Facebook post–while he was sick in the hospital during the time she was having her affair with the husband of the guy’s daughter!!!! The mayor might have been motivated by concern and kindness, but, considering the circumstances, the brazenness of the mayor in her visit does seem a tad on the tacky side. But perhaps her visit is only a reflection of how Barry perceives her job and power as mayor. She has a sign in her office that says, “Power is about waking up every day and making a difference in someone else’s life.” Or “lives” perhaps in light of the mayor’s recent two years of committing adultery. A reader sent us the NOW DELETED pictures from Sgt. Forrest’s mother-in-law’s Facebook page of the mayor’s hospital visit with Sgt. Forrest’s father-in-law. The pictures with the mayor, “a special visitor,” were posted on October 14,…
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After repeated denials that taxpayer money was used to fund and then cover up the years-long affair between Nashville Mayor Megan Barry and her security chief, Rob Forrest, WMSV reported that newly released documents the show the illicit couple was set to travel to New York together in order to attend the Grammy Awards on January 26. “Within the last two hours, we obtained more records from City Hall,” reporter Allana Autler began: We’ve just learned that there was another trip scheduled for the Mayor and her bodyguard for January 26 – just a few weeks ago. It was for Barry to attend the Grammy Awards in New York. Records show the trip was approved on January 10th. The Mayor’s spokesman says he can’t say when in January it was cancelled. But he did say she changed her plans and came home instead. We now know that’s the weekend before news of the affair broke. This new bombshell revelation appears at the end of the video embedded below, which contains a two-and-a-half minute report of an one-on-one interview by Aulter of Barry regarding a number troubling details surrounding the affair between the Mayor and her security chief, and the potential misuse of taxpayer money.…
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Franklin Businesswoman and Former Williamson County Republican Party Chairwoman Julie Hannah launched her campaign for Williamson County Register of Deeds today. “After lots of time in prayer with my family and much encouragement from friends, neighbors, and colleagues, I am excited to announce my candidacy for Register of Deeds,” said Hannah. Former Williamson County Republican Woman Chairwoman Brenda Davis said she was part of a group of individuals who approached Hannah to run, and Davis will now serve as Hannah’s campaign manager. “Six weeks ago, many potential supporters approached Julie about running for this open seat,” said Davis. “We were thrilled that Julie would seriously consider serving our county in this capacity, and we offered our help and support however possible. After just a few short weeks of meeting with supporters and potential donors, Julie today starts her campaign with more than $25,000 already collected. This high level of support is a true testament to Julie’s proven conservative leadership in the business world, our Republican Party and our community.” Hannah expressed gratitude for the support she has already received. “I deeply appreciate the enormous amount of trust dozens of Williamson Countians have already invested in me, and I am eager…
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Despite its becoming increasingly clear that the conduct of Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyers investigating President Donald Trump was dishonest, it likely is still not something that could be prosecuted, former federal prosecutor Andrew McCarthy said Monday.
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Two Republican senators say they’ve uncovered an “unusual email” that Obama administration national security adviser Susan Rice sent to herself on the day of President Trump’s inauguration. Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham say they find the email odd because of the timing and the substance of the message.
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Since publicly admitting to concealing her two year adulterous relationship with Sgt. Robert Forrest while he was an active duty Metro police officer and head of her security detail, Mayor Megan Barry has tried to convince the public that what she claims was an “off the clock” private affair, has no negative implications for the city’s government operations. During the time her extramarital affair was active and she was traveling on publicly-paid for business trips alone with Sgt. Forrest, at home Mayor Barry was officiating at public events including the December 2017 graduation ceremony for 49 new Nashville police officers. Standing before the new officers, the Mayor offered her congratulations and then administered the oath of office asking them to swear to uphold the Charter and Code of Laws of the Metro Nashville government and to: serve the Metro Government of Nashville/Davidson County, Tennessee honestly and faithfully and I will obey the orders of the officials placed over me according to the law. Earlier in December 2017, Mayor Barry administered the same oath to the Nashville Fire Department graduates. Both the Mayor’s 2016 Executive Order 005 and Metro’s Code of Laws Section 2.222 govern “Standards of Conduct” for all Metro employees including the…
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WSMV reporter Alanna Autler caught up with embattled Mayor Megan Barry to ask several questions regarding the creation of a single job in the Metro Nashville Legal Department that was summarily filled by Macy Amos Forrest, the adult daughter of Mayor Barry’s paramour and erstwhile security chief, Rob Forrest. Autler asks Barry a straightforward question about the unusual hire, and instead of a direct response, the Mayor replied with a non-answer that Forrest’s daughter, “was qualified,” for the job, and that there were “lots of people who stepped forward and said she should have this job, and I was happy to lend my voice.” WSMV edited the video of the interview for the news broadcast into what is essentially a ‘highlights’ reel of the most scintillating parts of the interview. However, in a separate post, the station published the entire transcript of the encounter between Barry and Autler. The video version does a good job of showing Barry’s clearly rehearsed non-answers to the young journalist’s questions. But when the segment is compared to the unedited video and full transcript, the extent of the Mayor’s stonewalling behavior is laid bare. Part Two – The Hiring of Rob Forrest’s Daughter, Macy Amos Forrest FULL TRANSCRIPT (‘highlight’ quotes…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall If you’re a Donald Trump backer, close your eyes and think back to the number of times skeptical inquisitors asked you to explain your support for Trump — and, if you’re honest, how often did you fudge the answer in hopes of avoiding an argument? Post State of the Union Address polls last week revealed President Trump’s approval rating ticking slightly upward, a good sign for the current occupant of the Oval Office and more broadly, the Republican Party. For going on two years now many conservatives have felt almost defensive in elaborating on why they crossed a once unthinkable line and got behind the unapologetic billionaire whose hairdo is outshone only by his oversized personality. As of last week Trump’s Real Clear Politics average approval rating was just shy of 42 percent, the highest it’s been since…well, ever? Though the overall numbers aren’t outstanding – or even good for that matter – it shows Americans are perhaps warming to the notion of a culturally polarizing celebrity businessman presiding over the most powerful government on the planet. Success must have something to do with Trump’s burgeoning acceptance; the U.S. economic numbers (stock market drop last week notwithstanding)…
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Senator Bob Corker is apparently open to the idea of running for reelection, despite previously announcing that he would not run in 2018. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has reportedly advised Corker that the idea is a “non-starter” unless he can get President Trump on board. Is it possible for Corker and Trump to “kiss and make up” at this point? A quick review of some of the most blatantly anti-Trump statements that Corker would have to overcome make it clear that he would not only have to “eat some crow” – he would have to devour a whole flock! Corker likely doesn’t have the stomach to do so. And some may recall that Trump dined with his nemesis Mitt Romney while dangling a prospective Secretary of State appointment – and then left Romney dangling before turning to Rex Tillerson. If this video compilation of the “Best of Corker Bashing Trump” becomes “Must See TV” at the White House it is more likely that President Trump will have a warm and friendly reconciliation with Rocket Man before he does so with Liddle Bob.
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Tennessee Jobs Now, the Super-PAC who made news by airing an anti-Diane Black radio ad featuring a repeatedly flushing toilet, received a $200,000 check in December from Randy Boyd donor Joe Hollingsworth, Jr., the Associated Press reports. After Diane Black complained that the radio ad was inaccurate, some radio stations pulled the spot. However, the A.P. reports “Tennessee Jobs Now then tweaked it and returned it to air,” adding that the Boyd campaign – through spokesperson Laine Arnold – asserts “the campaign had nothing to do with the ad.” Hollingsworth, the successful, second-generation businessman behind the Clinton, Tennessee-based Hollingsworth Companies Industrial Building Program – a commercial and industrial construction company and real estate firm – previously contributed $8,000 to Boyd in May. This is not the first time Hollingsworth has sought to influence the outcome of an election. In 2016, the A.P. notes he “spent heavily” to help his son Trey Hollingsworth run for and win the race to represent the people of Indiana’s 9th congressional district in the U. S. Congress in 2016. The 34-year-old Republican replaced Todd Young, who in turn ran for and won the open U.S. Senate seat after incumbent Senator Dan Coats announced he would not run for re-election in 2016. Coats…
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FRANKLIN, Tennessee–An overflow crowd of more than 200 supporters crowded into the new campaign headquarters of Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee in downtown Franklin on Monday night to celebrate its opening. The candidate delivered a speech to his home town supporters in which he indicated the campaign has entered a new phase. “I’m a little bit overwhelmed. When we started this… some of you were at the Cracker Barrel when we kicked off back last April,” Lee began. “This has been a remarkable journey for us. She has made it possible for me,” Lee said of his wife Maria. “This is something that we are doing together,” he added. “For us to go to 95 counties in 95 days sounded like a great idea, and then for me to drive a tractor from Mountain City to Memphis and for her to drive behind in a pickup truck giving me instructions, to just meet tens of thousands of people, and now it’s just starting to feel like, we’re having television interviews and we’re having newspaper interviews, it’s just very exciting,” Lee said. Lee continued: The more I do this the more people I meet, the further I go down this road, the…
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Much of the American press has swooned over Kim Yo-jong’s appearance at the Winter Olympics in South Korea, but a foreign policy expert said Monday that the public in the U.S. ally is more skeptical. Gordon Chang, a Daily Beast contributor who has studied Asia for years, said on “The Laura Ingraham Show” that ordinary South Koreans are turning away from North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un’s sister.
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WSMV reporter Alanna Autler caught up with embattled Mayor Megan Barry to ask several questions regarding the possible misappropriation of taxpayer funds and other resources used to support and then cover up Barry’s years-long affair with the head of her security detail, Rob Forrest. Despite several attempts by Autler to get a straight answer regarding records showing overseas travel and luxury accommodations with Forrest, Mayor Barry refused to deliver any kind of answer, and instead hid behind the lawyerly response that, “in cooperation with the TBI investigation we continue to provide them the answers, and I look forward to knowing that were no taxpayer dollars misused in any way.” WSMV edited the video of the interview for the news broadcast into what is essentially a ‘highlights’ reel of the most scintillating parts of the interview. However, in a separate post, the station published the entire transcript of the encounter between Barry and Autler. The video version does a good job of showing Barry’s clearly rehearsed non-answers to the young journalist’s questions. But when the segment is compared to the unedited video and full transcript, the extent of the Mayor’s stonewalling behavior is laid bare. Part One – Travel to Greece and San Francisco…
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Three members of Mayor Barry’s staff and the department head of Information Technology Services are scrambling to explain just exactly how it came to be that travel by her security chief and lover, Sgt. Rob Forrest, was not authorized by Police Chief Steve Anderson, as documents the Mayor’s office gave to NewsChannel 5 and Fox17 on Friday purported, but was instead authorized by her Chief of Staff, Debby Mason (pictured above). “Months after Mayor Megan Barry began an extramarital affair with her bodyguard [which Mayor Barry told WSMV on Friday began in spring of 2016], one of the mayor’s top aides, [Chief Operating Officer] Rich Riebeling, made an ‘unusual’ change to security protocol,” The Tennessean reported late Monday. “Instead of following a longstanding policy that the police department pay for the travel expenses incurred by officers on Barry’s security detail, the mayor’s office began approving and paying for those expenses out of its own budget,” The Tennessean reported. “The mayor’s chief of staff Debby Dale Mason assumed the authority to approve travel expenses on October 11, 2016, for all of the mayor’s bodyguards, including Forrest,” The Tennessean added. Apparently no one in the Mayor’s office, however, informed the official who…
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Israel’s Diamond Exchange, one of the three largest worldwide, is launching cryptocurrency in what it said Wednesday is a bid to increase trade and make transactions more efficient and transparent. The cryptocurrency, to be called Carat, is expected to hit the market around May and will be used by investors and the general public.
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Nashville Metro wants to tell you all about the light rail transit plan ahead of the May 1 referendum — and wants the taxpayers to pick up the tab. The “Transit Talk” offers groups a speaker to answer any questions about “Let’s Move Nashville.” All you have to do is go to the city’s Let’s Move Nashville website, fill out a questionnaire with the time and date, and tell them how many attendees you expect, and the city will send a speaker. “If you are a part of a Neighborhood Association or other group that meets regularly and would like to learn more about the proposal, please fill out the form below. We will be in touch to schedule your transit talk,” the Let’s Move Nashville says. Erin Hafkenschiel, director of the Mayor’s Office of Transportation and Sustainability, said the talks will help voters make an informed vote at the polls, WKRN reports. Even though Metro Council voted last week to publish a more accurate cost estimate of $9 billion on the May 1 ballot, the Let’s Move Nashville website, which aims to “educate” voters, continues to claim the transit system will cost $5.2 billion. It is not known if…
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Renata Soto, the Donald Trump-bashing chairman of the board of UnidosUS (the new name adopted by the George Soros-funded National Council of LaRaza in July 2017), and founder and head of Conexion Americas, the Nashville affiliate of UnidosUS, was one of the featured speakers at Saturday’s kickoff of the Transit for Nashville campaign to support the passage of the tax increasing transit plan on the May 1 referendum before Nashville/Davidson County voters. Soto was joined by former Nashville Vice-Mayor Howard Gentry and Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN-05) as the featured speakers in the 22 minute kickoff event. Notably, embattled Nashville Mayor Megan Barry, who two weeks ago admitted to conducting a two-year-long extramarital affair with her bodyguard, was not one of the event’s featured speakers, though she was, apparently, in attendance. “My name is Renata Soto and I am with Conexion Americas, one of almost 120 coalition members who are so excited to get this campaign kicked off today,” Soto began. “Are we ready for transit?” she asked the crowd “Our coalition represents almost 300,000 Nashvillians. We have collected more than 30,000 signatures. We have hosted more than 200 community events. And we know that with your support, your enthusiasm, your…
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George Soros and his cronies in the media were certain Hillary Clinton was going to be president. They just knew their “socialist justice” movement here at home, and the undermining of the United States on the world stage that they were achieving under Barack Obama, would continue under another “President Clinton.”
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Rep. Jim Jordan says the swamp struck back with the passage of a massive budget deal that increases government spending by $300 billion. “I’m saying the swamp won and the American taxpayer lost,” Mr. Jordan, co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
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Donald Trump’s administration will sketch out more details of its plan to invest in America’s creaking infrastructure Monday, hoping it can leverage up to $1.5 trillion for the cause. Senior White House officials said the president’s budget, due to be released on Monday, will include $200 billion earmarked for projects to fix roads, bridges and other crucial infrastructure.
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It’s likely that all four sources used by the FBI to start spying on President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign have connections to Bill and Hillary Clinton, according to a top investigative journalist. Cody Shearer and Sidney Blumenthal, both long-time political hit men for the couple, are tied to a “pipeline of Clinton-related information” that led into the Department of State, forming a second “dossier” of dirt on that was used to get spy warrants.
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by Steve Osborn The folks in the grassroots conservative movement have been working hard these last few years trying to be the Vanguards of Liberty, and trying to undo the damage inflicted on our nation by liberals. We may disagree from time to time on issues, tactics, or candidates, but we remain steadfast and united in our common goals: defending the Constitution, restoring our constitutional Republic, and preserving our long-held American values. However, some of us have been choosing to support one candidate over another because of what is said on the campaign trail or what we’ve heard from someone else without doing any research from reputable sources on our own. In many ways, we’ve acted like we’re electing a high-school class president based on a popularity contest without truly knowing who best shares our values, or who would best represent us in the state. We have to grow beyond that. Just doing basic research of the candidates would either support what is said on the trail, or prove that a candidate is simply pandering for votes. Consequently, we’ve been electing Republicans in Tennessee who’ve run as conservatives only for them to show that they’re actually liberals once they’re in…
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The commission that will be recommending new social studies textbooks for Tennessee students is operating with a majority of its members unconfirmed by the legislature or still serving after their terms have expired. The 10-member Tennessee State Textbook and Instructional Materials Quality Commission currently has only four positions that do not require immediate legislative action due to expired terms, two of them appointed by House Speaker Beth Harwell. Three other members who have not been approved by the General Assembly apparently voted in commission meetings last year. The Department of Education and the Governor’s office declined to comment on the current state of the commission. This year the commission is tasked with approving the state’s new social studies textbook with their next meeting set for March 19. The commission is comprised of three appointees each from the Governor, the Lt. Governor and the Speaker of the House which must be approved by the General Assembly, and one designee from the Commissioner of the Department of Education. Before Sen. Mike Bell (R-Cleveland) sponsored Senate Bill 1602 in 2014, the commission included the commissioner of education and nine members appointed by the governor. The change in appointing powers assumed the General Assembly…
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Rep. Devin Nunes wants the public to see the Democrats’ “ridiculous” rebuttal memo on possible FBI misconduct in the Russia probe. In an interview on Fox News Channel on Sunday, Mr. Nunes, California Republican and House intelligence committee chairman, accused the Democrats of playing political games by trying to make an issue of President Trump’s demanding redactions for national-security purposes.
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Late Sunday, “a senior adviser to Sen. Bob Corker”(R-TN) told The Tennessean “It is true that Senator Corker has been encouraged by people across Tennessee and in the Senate to reconsider his decision, but at this point nothing has changed,” (emphasis added) when asked to respond to a CNN report earlier on Sunday filed by John King that rumors are circulating on Capitol Hill that junior Senator Bob Corker is ‘having second thoughts’ about retirement: CNN is told that in recent days. Senator Bob Corker of Tennessee has floated the idea of changing his mind and running for re-election this year. Now sources tell us fellow Tennessean Lamar Alexander and South Carolina’s Lindsey Graham are among those who discussed the idea with Senator Corker. But – and this is a big ‘but’ – when the idea was broached to the Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, his response, we are told is, it’s a non-starter unless Senator Corker can get President Trump on board. You might recall last year, Corker questioned the President’s competence and in return, he earned the Twitter nickname, ‘Liddle Bob Corker.’ They are back on speaking terms – the Senator and the President, now – but one source familiar with the conversations says the president,…
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Two Ohio police officers responding to a 911 hang-up call were fatally shot on Saturday after entering an apartment in a Columbus suburb, and a suspect was taken into custody, authorities said. Westerville Police Chief Joe Morbitzer said officer Eric Joering, 39, died at the scene and his colleague, Tony Morelli, 54, died at a local hospital. He said the officers were responding to a “potential domestic situation.”
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The Cleveland Browns have a plethora of options in the 2018 NFL Draft and that is the nature of owning both the No. 1 and No. 4 overall picks. Still, the franchise will almost certainly come under fire if they do not use one of the picks on a quarterback, simply because the Browns have passed on both Deshaun Watson and Carson Wentz in recent years.
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She’s always been Fame(US), but on Saturday night, she made it official. After a relentlessly fast run on an obstacle course, Fame(US) — “famous” — a border collie from Sparta, won the Masters Agility Championship at the 2018 Westminster Kennel Club dog show at Pier 94 in New York.
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Embattled Mayor Megan Barry sat down with WKRN’s Bob Mueller to discuss the ongoing firestorm of revelations about how City resources may have been used to support, and then cover up, her years-long extramarital affair with the head of her security detail, Rob Forrest. WKRN aired a 60-second preview of the full interview, which viewers can watch Sunday, February 11, during the 6pm news broadcast. In the video, Barry, a Democrat and fierce critic of conservatives and the Trump agenda, told Mueller flatly, “I don’t plan on resigning,” and that, “At the moment, I fully believe that the TBI investigation will conclude that there were no taxpayer dollars that were misused.” Mueller asked, “Do you hope for a fast conclusion to this? Do you want the informations out there? And will the results of all these investigtions be made public?” Barry answered, “As far as I know – I don’t know how that all works; this is all new territory – but I will tell you clearly for me, the faster this gets resolved the better for my family and the citizens of Nashville.” Meanwhile, a new report exposing a potential career-ending conspiracy for at least a handful of additional staffers to manipulate the…
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By Robert Romano More than any other issue, President Donald Trump’s vow to renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) or else leave it may have been the most important reason he won the Electoral College in 2016 against his opponent, Hillary Clinton. Trump won Ohio by about 450,000 votes. In Pennsylvania, Trump only won by 44,000 votes. In Florida, Trump won by only 113,000 votes. In Michigan, Trump only won by 11,000 votes. In North Carolina, Trump won by 173,000. In the rust belt they included states that traditionally voted Democrat. And they’re what put Trump over the top in 2016. These were some of the states hit the hardest by NAFTA. Ohio has lost 290,874 manufacturing jobs since the NAFTA and World Trade Organization (WTO) era began in 1994 and 1995 respectively, according to data compiled by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Public Citizen. Pennsylvania has lost 312,338 factory jobs since then. Florida has lost 82,006 jobs in manufacturing. Michigan lost 182,288. North Carolina lost 338,990. Fortunately, since taking office in 2017, President Trump has been working to keep his promise. On April 27, Trump took to Twitter to announce, “I received calls from the President of Mexico…
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Tennessean columnist Alex Hubbard noted in a column over the weekend that “Some Questions Matter More Than Others in Megan Barry Affair.” He’s right, and many of the questions he posed are actually among those that deserve a clear and honest answer from Mayor Barry. However, there are a number of other “non-ideological” questions that Hubbard either doesn’t want asked or answered. Perhaps there is an ideological basis for the questions that the liberal Tennessean prefers to ignore. First, Hubbard follows the lead of previous Tennessean editorial commentary in defini-tively stating that the current “public discussion surrounding sexual harassment does not apply here.” Really? Sexual harassment isn’t just about “consensual versus non-consensual” distinctions when it comes to sexual relationships in the workplace. A boss and subordinate may be perfectly happy with their secret affair, and the benefits that inure to the subordinate in terms of promotions, bonuses, and other work benefits. That may have been the case with Mayor Barry and Sgt. Forrester. But what about the other members of the security detail who didn’t benefit from the “consensual” relationship? Perhaps another officer passed on the flirtations of Mayor Barry, thereby denying himself the overtime and international travel that Sgt.…
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Stephen Paddock was overweight, had some anti-anxiety medication in his urine, and suffered from the usual wear and tear that comes with aging. But the autopsy released Friday failed to help answer why Paddock chose to perch himself in the window of his 32nd-floor hotel room and kill 58 people while wounding hundreds in the worst mass shooting in modern American history. He committed suicide by shooting himself. No suicide note or manifesto has been found.
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The third-ranking official at the US Justice Department is resigning just nine months after taking the powerful position, the New York Times reported Friday. The resignation of Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, a national security law expert, comes as President Donald Trump and Republican legislators have stepped up attacks on the department over special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation of possible Trump campaign links to Russian interference in the 2016 election.
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The apparently random sequence in which countries marched out at the opening ceremony of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics had many observers scratching their heads, but it was indeed in alphabetical order — in Korean.
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US President Donald Trump on Saturday told Democratic lawmakers to refile a memo about the probe into his campaign’s possible collusion with Russia, leaving a chance the document could still be released. The document is the Democrats’ response to a four-page memorandum written by Republican legislator Devin Nunes, which Trump agreed to declassify and release on February 2 — against the advice of his own FBI director and the Department of Justice.
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Each time there’s another mass shooting in the United States, Shannon Watts and Dana Loesch take to Twitter on opposite ends of the gun debate. Watts, founder of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, makes the arguments for stricter gun control in a country with 33,000 gun-related deaths a year.
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Fox News Channel is still the dominant news operation in cable. Led by the conservative-leaning lineup of prime time hosts, Fox boasts seven of the 10 highest-rated news shows on cable so far this year. Sean Hannity has averaged 3.48 million viewers since the start of the year, making him the top dog.
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Republicans and President Donald Trump were always going to use illegal immigration against opposition candidates in this year’s midterm election, but vulnerable Democrats likely did not think they would be hurt by the issue. Trump is on the defensive, after all — on a variety of issues.
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The Tennessean’s Clarksville-based liberal columnist and opinion writer Saritha Prabhu penned a passionate call on Mayor Megan Barry to resign from office Friday afternoon after a new wave of revelations surrounding Barry’s affair and cover-up with top staffer Rob Forrest came to light. “Disappointed on many levels describes how I feel about the Megan Barry situation,” she begins, in a surprisingly candid and heartfelt indictment of Nashville’s first woman to hold its top elected office: Mayor Barry shocked and saddened our Middle Tennessee community when she revealed recently that she had had a nearly two-year extramarital affair with her top security officer. I live in Clarksville, but I was proud when Nashville elected its first female mayor in late 2015. But now, each new revelation about the affair has been damning to her and to her continued political survival. To cut to the chase: She should do Nashville and herself a favor and resign. To continue as mayor would be to prolong the ugliness, and drip-drip nature of the revelations, and to further undercut her authority to lead. If this had been an affair with a private citizen on her own dime, it’d probably be none of our business. But this is different,…
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For years, people have argued about what makes a sport an actual sport. Two intensely debated areas that come to mind are cheerleading and fishing — but now an effort is underway to get eSports into future Olympics.
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PYEONGCHANG, South Korea — Kevin Bickner seems like a polite, mature, smart 21-year-old from the Midwest. Except he’s nuts. Like certifiably crazy. And he doesn’t dispute that opinion. “You have to have something loose up here,” he said, pointing to his noggin, “to find that enjoyable.”
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Wall Street stocks finished a topsy-turvy session solidly higher Friday, surging in the final hour of trading and lessening the losses in a brutal week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended up 1.4 percent at 24,190.90 after swinging more than 1,000 points during the session.
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Tennessee State Senators Bo Watson (R-Hixson) and Todd Gardenhire (R-Chattanooga) joined State Representative Mike Carter (R-Ooltewah) to file Senate Bill 2656, which would end mandatory emissions tests for vehicles registered in those counties that still have the requirement. The bill’s summary, as it appears in the legislative database reads: Motor Vehicles – As introduced, bans counties in attainment status from entering into or renewing contracts regarding vehicle inspection and maintenance programs to maintain compliance with national ambient air quality standards. – Amends TCA Title 55 and Title 68. Annually, over 1.5 million vehicles across the half-dozen counties of Hamilton, Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson and Wilson would see relief. “Vehicle owners in these counties should not be penalized as the standards have been met,” Senator Watson said in a joint statement about the measure. “Emission testing is not only time-consuming, but has costs attached, which are especially hard on low-income families. This legislation would relieve this burdensome regulation for citizens in these six counties.” The lawmakers explain that the 1990 Federal Clean Air Act required the State of Tennessee to develop more restrictive regulations to control air pollution from mobile sources in counties which were not meeting the Federal Standards for air quality. In August, the Tennessee Department…
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Jeremy H.G. Hayes has cancelled his challenge to State Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mt. Juliet), after Lynn reported Hayes to the state election commission for voting outside his district, triggering a very public raid by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) and an investigation into his actual residency. Wilson County District Attorney Tommy Thompson told the Lebanon Democrat, “Residency is one of the most evasive and one of the most difficult things to show,” said Thompson. “He used his grandmother’s address to be able to vote in the 2017 election. He may have had a move to his grandmother’s planned, but he hadn’t moved in our opinion.” The Lebonon Democrat reports: According to TBI public information officer Susan Niland, special agents executed a search warrant at Hayes’ townhome January 23 at 133 Noel Cove Circle in Hermitage in Davidson County. Hayes said TBI agents showed up at the door of his Hermitage townhome, as well as his grandmother’s Mt. Juliet home where he claims he lived at 120 Southwest Cook Road without a search warrant. Hayes said at the time he asked agents to leave after about four hours of questioning. Of the single vote cast by Hayes in 2017, Thomson told…
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