Month: January 2019

New Report Calls Ilhan Omar’s Security Clearance Into Question

Anthony Gockowski

A new report published Thursday suggests that Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN-05) would not be granted security clearance if she weren’t an elected official because of her ties to those in the highest echelons of Somalia’s government. According to an investigative report from PJ Media, Omar visited with former Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in Mogadishu prior to her 2016 election to the Minnesota House. It’s likely she also met with Somalia’s new president, Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, whose election was called “one of the most fraudulent political events in Somalia’s history.” Omar’s brother-in-law, Mohamed Keynan, later worked under his administration as a permanent secretary to the prime minister, a position he occupied for 14 months. PJ Media’s David Steinberg uncovered the close familial relationship Omar and Keynan share, reporting: A long-time resident of Minneapolis, MN, and Columbus, OH, Mohamed Keynan is married to Ilhan Omar’s sister, Sahra Noor. Sahra, who arrived in the United States with Ilhan in 1995, bears the distinction of being the only one of Ilhan Omar’s seven siblings whom Ilhan has ever identified or openly appeared with in public. Sahra and Ilhan have been frequently photographed together over the years, and have often appeared together with their…

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North Carolina’s Supreme Court Chief Justice Resigns For Law School Dean Job

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina’s Supreme Court Chief Justice announced his resignation to become dean of Regent University School of Law in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Chief Justice Mark Martin’s resignation is effective February 28th and will begin his new role March 1, 2019. It has been the highest of honors to serve the people of North Carolina as their Chief Justice,” Martin stated in a press release. “I will forever cherish the memories of serving with so many amazing and capable people. It is now time to direct my focus to helping prepare the next generation of leaders.” “On behalf of the Regent University Board of Trustees, I welcome Chief Justice Martin to the Regent University School of Law,” said Phil Walker, Regent University Chairman of the Board in a press release by Regent University.  “His career and legal abilities are extraordinary.  I have known Chief Justice Martin for many years and know the Regent community will greatly benefit from this outstanding leader.” Chief Justice Martin is the 28th Chief Justice and has served as a judge in North Carolina for 26 years, over twenty of which were on the state’s supreme court. Martin, a Republican, has been a judicial ground breaker during that…

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Republicans Call on Minnesota DHS to Hand Over Information About Child Care Fraud

Anthony Gockowski

Newly-appointed Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Commissioner Tony Lourey is facing pressure from Republican legislators over the department’s failure to respond to several data requests seeking information on the state’s alleged child care fraud. The fraud was first exposed in a May 2018 Fox 9 report, and has been a subject of concern for Minnesota Republicans ever since. Investigative reporters found that up to $100 million in suitcases had left MSP bound for the Middle East. Experts suspected that some of the money was being transferred through Hawalas, the unofficial banking systems of some third-world countries, which are generally compelled to hand over a share of the profits to Al-Shabab. The story resulted in a shock allegation from Republicans: Minnesota taxpayers, through widespread fraud in the state’s Child Care Assistance Program, are funding foreign terrorists. The fraud scheme, according to Fox 9, generally included daycare centers across the state registering low-income families for their services so they could bill the state for a full day of care. In many cases, however, the children would never show up, while families in on the scam would receive shares of the profit. Rep. Mary Franson (R-Alexandria) and former Rep. Matt Dean (R-Ely)…

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North Carolina House Elections Committee Chairs Announced

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina’s Speaker of the House Tim Moore has announced the appointment of State Representatives Holly Grange (R-D20) and Destin Hall (R-D87l) as co-chairs of the North Carolina House Committee on Elections and Ethics Law. “These two House members have a strong legal background and will be an integral part of how we restore confidence in our elections systems in North Carolina,” state House Speaker Tim Moore said in a statement. The new co-chairs replace former long-time chair David Lewis (R- D53). Representative Lewis, having been reappointed, will continue as chairman of the House Committee on Rules, Calendar, and Operations of the House. In the statement put out by the Speaker’s office, Grange said the committee will be holding oversight hearings which will look into absentee ballot laws and practices. “We saw this election cycle and in previous years that there are unacceptable gaps in the integrity and reliability of our elections systems,” Representative Grange said. “It is our duty as state lawmakers to identify those concerns and address them through oversight and legislation on behalf of our constituents and their confidence in North Carolina’s democratic process,” Grange said. Representative Hall, who is a practicing attorney from Lenoir, North Carolina,…

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As Many as 34 Deaths in Ohio Now Attributed to Doctor Husel’s Lethal Opioid Dosing

Andrew Shirley

Thursday, the Mount Carmel Hospital released a shocking report that revealed the crimes of Doctor William Husel were far more extensive and well known than previously noted. As first reported on January 18th, the Mount Carmel Hospital confirmed that Dr. Husel was being investigated for malpractice. The young doctor had allegedly prescribed dangerous – and in some cases fatal – doses of fentanyl to at least 27 patients. All the victims were in a “near death” state when the doses were administered. In some cases, the doctor was prescribing 50 times the recommended dose. No motive had yet been established and the doctor was suspended from service until the investigation is complete. Thursday’s report revealed that a “formal report” about the questionable methods of Dr. Husel was first filed on October 25th, 2018. However, he was not removed from providing patient care until November 21st, almost a month later. During this time, three of his victims were administered the lethal doses and all three died shortly after. The hospital conceded that “we should have begun a more expedited process to investigate and consider immediate removal of Dr. Husel from patient care.” There is no clear answer as to why the waited so long to remove the doctor…

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Lawmakers Blast North Carolina Governor’s Office For Blocking Pipeline Investigation

A.P. Dillon

North Carolina’s Democratic Governor Roy Cooper is under fire for blocking attempts by independent investigators to question employees regarding a multi-million dollar fund tied to the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. According to a report by the Associated Press published in the Miami Herald: “Cooper’s administration told panel leaders last week it won’t let career environmental regulators contacted by the firm this month speak with the investigators.” The workers have no legal protections from inappropriate questions that are extensions of an “extraordinarily open-ended political fishing expedition,” wrote Kristi Jones, Cooper’s chief of staff. The committee’s co-chairmen fired off a letter to Cooper, blasting the governor for blocking the investigation. “For nearly a year, you complained that this oversight investigation was too political,” wrote Senator Harry Brown (R-D6) and Representative Dean Arp (R-D69). “To remove any appearance of political motivations, we hired independent investigators to get to the truth,” the co-chairs wrote. “Senator Floyd McKissick even participated in the interview and he agreed that Eagle Intel Services LLC was the best options.” “But now you are complaining that the oversight investigation is too independent,” Senator Brown and Representative Arp wrote. The letter also blasted Cooper for ‘impugning’ the character of the investigators. “We…

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Congress’ Work on Border Wall ‘Far from Over,’ Marsha Blackburn Affirms

Chris Butler

Republican U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee reasserted her commitment to a wall along the U.S./Mexican border Friday. Blackburn did so immediately after U.S. President Donald Trump reached a compromise agreement with Democrats to re-open closed portions of the federal government in a dispute that centered primarily on border wall funding. My statement on the President’s decision to re-open the government: pic.twitter.com/2kxqmFyGRD — Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) January 25, 2019 “President Trump has reached a compromise with Democratic and Republican leaders to reopen the federal government with a short term continuing resolution. While this action solves the immediate problem of funding the back pay of 800,000 federal workers, it does not address the urgent need to end the humanitarian crisis on our southern border. It does not end the illegal flow of drugs, gangs and human traffickers. Congress’ work on this issue is far from over,” Blackburn said in a press release. “I will continue to support our border patrol and their three essential needs: a border barrier, additional technology and more officers and agents on the border. I also support ending the DACA program, chain migration and the visa lottery system.” As The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, Trump…

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North Carolina Treasurer Warns of Health Plan Insolvency, Has Plans for Reform

A.P. Dillon

A December 2018 report by S&P Global suggests that the North Carolina state health plan will be in real jeopardy of insolvency by 2023 due to unfunded liabilities and rising medical and pharmaceutical costs. “North Carolina’s other post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities as a combined funded ratio, are less than five percent funded. The November 28, 2018 report confirms previous research by the Pew Charitable Trusts which explains that the state’s unfunded retirement/health care costs as a share of personal income are one of the worst in the country, right behind Illinois,” State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, announced in a press statement about S&P Global’s findings. “Every man, woman, and child in the state would have to pay almost $3,200 each to cover our current promises of health care for state and local government retirees. We’re having to act because others haven’t,” Folwell said in the press statement. Folwell has a plan to save the health plan and taxpayer money. “We are approaching this like anything else and that’s ‘we attack problems, not people’, Folwell recently told Battleground State News. “Solving this is going to make a huge difference in the lives of the people who educate our kids, who…

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TennCare Recipients Might Soon Reportedly Have to Start Working

Chris Butler

If you are on TennCare then you may have to put on your boots, roll up your sleeves and get to work if you still want your benefits, according to the Memphis-based WMC Action News 5. “The state of Tennessee is asking the Trump administration to enact those requirements. They said it would apply to roughly 56,000 Tenncare recipients,” the station reported. “However, there is concern about some details of the plan. In an application to Medicaid in late December, state officials said Tenncare work requirements would not impact pregnant women, the elderly, disabled, or those with certain medical conditions.” Tenncare’s plan, WMC went on to say, asks that recipients put in 20 hours a week of community service, education, or work for four out of six months. Tennessee has 1.3 million people on Tenncare. The work program would affect only 56,000 of those recipients, the station said, without specifying further. The idea for this comes from the neighboring state of Arkansas, WMC reported. “Arkansas is the first state in the nation to implement a Medicaid work requirement and kicked more than 17 thousand people off Medicaid in 2018 for failing to report their work activities,” according to the station.…

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During National School Choice Week, Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn Receives Award for School Choice Efforts

Laura Baigert

In celebration of National School Choice Week, Tennessee Federation for Children sponsored a Champions of Choice event at the state capitol to present Representative Bill Dunn with the 2019 Champion award. Standing beside Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada (R-Franklin), Shaka Mitchell, Tennessee’s State Director of American Federation for Children, said that as National School Choice Week is being celebrated this week, they wanted to come together to recognize one of the state’s leaders in education and strong advocate for students, Speaker Pro Tem Bill Dunn (R-Knoxville). American Federation for Children (AFC) is a Washington, D.C. headquartered non-profit organization that seeks to “empower families, especially lower-income families with the freedom to choose the best K-12 education for their children.” The event was held in the Legislative Library located at the state capitol with as many as 100 in attendance including legislators and members of Governor Bill Lee’s staff. AFC’s partner organizations in the effort including Beacon Center of Tennessee, Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee and Tennessee CAN (The Tennessee Campaign for Achievement Now) were also there. AFC’s Mitchell started off by speaking about the quality of education in Tennessee, “The reality is we still have a long way to go,” after…

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Colorado Teacher Placed on Leave after Doxxing Wrong Covington Catholic High School Student

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by Neetu Chandak   A Colorado school district placed a seventh-grade teacher on leave following her alleged claim on Twitter that a random student was part of the “Hitler Youth,” mistaking him for one of the Covington Catholic High School boys caught in the encounter with American Indian activist Nathan Phillips. Mountain Ridge Middle School (MRMS) social studies teacher Michelle Grissom allegedly named and posted a picture of Covington Catholic student Jay Jackson as one of the boys wearing Make America Great Again (MAGA) hats in Washington, D.C. Jackson was not in Washington with his schoolmates at the time of the now-infamous incident. The group of boys were caught in a viral video that made it seem like they were mocking Phillips, though complete footage shows Phillips had initiated the encounter Friday. Many have tried to doxx the boys following the media outrage. John Jackson, the dad, asked Grissom multiple times to take down tweets referring to his son as part of the “Hitler Youth” and a picture of Jay Jackson. Grissom took down the post Sunday, but only after the father sent the tweet to the district. “Michelle Grissom is currently on leave,” MRMS principal Shannon Clarke said in…

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Commentary: Trump Is Lucky in His Choice of Enemies

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by Michael Walsh   No matter when or where Donald Trump finally delivers his State of the Union speech – late last night, he gave up on the notion of an alternative venue and tweeted that the speech will take place in the House according to “history, tradition, and importance of the House Chamber,” after the shutdown is over- one thing is certain the President is lucky in his choice of enemies. The Left, of course, thinks it has him on the run: his popularity can’t crack 50 percent, a Vichycon Republican majority foot-dragging during Trump’s first two years resulted in a grand total of bupkis, policy-wise (thanks, Paul Ryan!), and the progressive media has turned every news story- from BuzzFeed’s catastrophic confabulation about the Trump Moscow project to the innocent high schoolers in MAGA hats targeted for a classic propaganda stunt that’s now backfired badly- into an instant referendum on Trump. And yet he’s still standing. That’s because Trump, as combative a personality who’s ever occupied the White House, thrives on conflict. While Washington is often called Hollywood for ugly people, few of the dullards, clods, clowns, rapscallions, and mountebanks who occupy seats in the Congress or in the…

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Congress Puts a Carbon Tax Back on the Table after It Failed in 2018

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by Tim Pearce   A pair of U.S. congressmen from Florida are making a renewed bipartisan push for carbon tax legislation that failed to gain traction in 2018, The Washington Examiner reported. Reps. Ted Deutch, a Democrat, and Francis Rooney, a Republican, are planning to reintroduce a bill Thursday that would place a $15-per-ton tax on carbon emissions in 2019. The tax would rise by $10-a-year increments until it hits nearly $100 per ton. “I am supportive of a carbon fee as a non-regulatory, revenue-neutral and market-driven incentive to move toward natural gas and away from coal, and to support emerging alternate sources of energy,” Rooney told The Washington Examiner. “This bill provides a method of ensuring that any fees are rebated back to the public.” The pair of legislators, who co-chair the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, partnered with other lawmakers to introduce an earlier version of the same bill in November 2018. That bill did not come up for a vote and died after the new session of Congress began. The proposal is revenue neutral, or does not create another source of tax revenue for the federal government to tap into and divert for other causes. The money collected…

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Commentary: Establishment Republicans and Their Democrat Allies Are Pulling a ‘Bait and Switch’ on Trump’s Wall Funding

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by CHQ Staff   Yesterday after press time our friend Rachel Bovard, Policy Director for the Conservative Partnership Institute, gave us a heads up that the bill touted by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell as the “Trump wall bill” is anything but a bill to give the President the authority and funding he needs to fulfill his oath of office and his campaign promise. According to Ms. Bovard’s analysis, and our subsequent reading of the bill, the $5.7 billion President Trump has asked for is there, and the authorities from the ’96 law (Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act) are incorporated by reference. This is strong and broad authority to build physical barriers and acquire the land to do so. That’s the bait, now here’s the switch: The wall is then limited by the same restrictions outlined in Sec. 230 of the Omnibus from last March, which expressly prohibits any money being spent on the wall prototypes approved by President Trump, and limits various physical infrastructure in some places to only drones, pedestrian fencing or “planning.” You can read the specific language of Sec. 230 through Ms. Bovard’s tweet. https://twitter.com/rachelbovard/status/976823794466684928 In what can only be termed a slap in…

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Metro Nashville Reportedly Has Less Money to Spend This Year

Chris Butler

The people who run the Metro Nashville government will have to act a little more frugal this coming year, according to Nashville Public Radio. The city’s finance director laid it all out in a recent budget memo, the station went on to say. The director told department leaders not to ask for any discretionary funding increases this year. They are also tasked with thinking about potential cost savings. “While we understand that maintaining current funding levels will be a challenge, we can only consider required/mandatory budgetary improvement requirements given our anticipated revenue streams,” Nashville Public Radio quoted Finance Director Talia Lomax O’dneal as saying. O’dneal also asked departments to consider ways to raise more revenue. Those methods could include charging higher fees and pondering ways to avoid spending, the station reported. “All of those ideas will be given to the new Blue Ribbon Commission, which the Metro Council created last year to hunt for government savings. The commission has been asked to make savings proposals by April 1,” according to Nashville Public Radio. “The finance director does praise city agencies for being thrifty in the past year, as few have requested emergency cash, and ‘targeted savings are on track to be achieved.’” Metro…

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Tennessee Socialists Won’t Offer Opinion on Venezuela Chaos and Juan Guaidó

Chris Butler

Members of the Middle Tennessee Democratic Socialists of America refused to say Thursday whether they support America’s policy to back new Venezuelan President Juan Guaidó. As several news agencies reported this week, U.S. Republican President Donald Trump and other world leaders recognized Guaidó as the new president over President Nicolás Maduro. Maduro is a socialist and the anointed successor of the late Hugo Chávez. No one at the TNDSA returned The Tennessee Star’s repeated requests for comment Thursday. As several news agencies have already reported, people in socialist Venezuela are starving. A mass exodus of people from that country has sparked the largest migrant crisis in that region’s modern history. According to Thursday’s Daily Caller, Democratic New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has thus far not supported Trump’s decision to recognize Maduro. “Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic socialist, has not previously commented publicly on human rights offenses by the socialist regime in Venezuela,” according to The Daily Caller. As The Daily Caller went on to say, “thousands have taken to the streets in Venezuela to call for an end to the Maduro regime and a restoration of freedom in their country.” Ocasio-Cortez said Venezuela’s human rights situation and Trump’s decision to recognize Maduro’s opposition was ‘concerning.’” “Our office…

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Cleveland, TN Utilities Employee Uses Utility Money on Personal Shopping Spree

Chris Butler

A Cleveland Utilities information technology clerk went on an eight-month spending binge and used $5,415 of utility funds on travel bags and wireless speakers, among other luxuries, according to a state audit released this week. Authorities charged the woman, Rexanna Wilson, 50, with theft. Wilson later pled guilty in Bradley County Sessions Court and paid restitution in full, said Cleveland Police spokeswoman Evie West, in an email to The Tennessee Star.  No contact information for Wilson was apparently available Wednesday, either on social media or through the telephone listings for her area. “Investigators determined the clerk spent at least $5,415 of utility funds between September 2017 and April 2018. She used the money to purchase at least 92 items including purses, travel bags, wallets, headphones, wireless speakers, woodworking tools, and other items for her personal use,” according to a press release from the Tennessee Comptrollers’ Office. “The clerk frequently falsified purchasing documents by providing inaccurate descriptions of the items she bought. She also utilized the utilities’ tax-exempt status to avoid paying sales taxes.” Cleveland Utilities fired Wilson from her position last year. Comptroller’s worked the case alongside Cleveland Police officers and members of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, according to the Comptrollers’ press…

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Paul Rose Wins Republican Nomination for TN State Senate District 32 Race

Chris Butler

Paul Rose easily won the Republican nomination for Tennessee’s State Senate District 32 race Thursday night. According to the results, Rose won with more than 62 percent of the vote, or 6,159 votes out of 9,909 cast overall. Former Shelby County Commissioner George Chism ran a distant second with almost 14 percent of the vote or 1,362 votes. Meanwhile Heidi Shafer, who also served on the Shelby County Commission, placed third, also with almost 14 percent, or 1,358 votes. Former State Representative Steve McManus placed fourth, with about 10 percent of the vote, or 1,030 votes. Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden released a statement after the votes came in. “Paul is a long-time friend and has been committed to advocating for conservative ideas and will make a great State Senator,” Golden said. “We are eager to help them win the General Election and help continue the successes of our Senate supermajority.” Rose will now square off against Democrat Eric Coleman in a March 12 general election, according to the Memphis-based WMC Action News 5. The victor will replace former State Sen. Mark Norris, who is now a federal judge. District 32 encompasses Tipton and parts of eastern Shelby counties.…

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New Tennessee Law Cuts Off the Cash Knox County Gets from Truckers for Scale Violation Tickets

Chris Butler

Knox County officials apparently love to give tickets to truckers, but a new state law has cut off that county’s cash flow, according to CDLLife.com. The website caters to people in the trucking industry. County officials got this money by ticketing overweight trucks and last year gave out 1,600 citations. Last year the county made $250,000 for government officials to use, according to the Knoxville-based TV station WBIR. Knox County operates the nation’s second busiest scale house, CDLLife.com reported. “Under a law that went into effect on January 1, 2019, Knox County will no longer be allowed to take in revenue by ticketing overweight trucks at their scale houses,” CDLLife.com reported. “Truckers may still be ticketed, but under the new law, that ticket revenue will bypass Knox County and go directly to the state of Tennessee.” CDLLife.com quoted County Clerk Mike Hammond as saying his local government collects so much money because interstates 40, 75, and 81 go through there. State Rep. Bud Hulsey, R-Kingsport, is responsible for the law. Hulsey reportedly owns the Blountville-based trucking company Burlington Logistics. CDLLIfe.com reported. “He proposed the law after one of his drivers was ticketed in Knox County. Husley successfully argued that it…

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Joe Manchin Will Vote for the Wall

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by Jason Hopkins   West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin is bucking the Democratic Party, announcing that he will vote for legislation funding a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico. “Today I will vote for both gov funding bills b/c I believe we must end this harmful shutdown immediately & it’s our first opportunity in the Senate to do so,” the Democrat tweeted Thursday. “Even though they will probably fail, these votes are a start to finding a way to reopen the gov & get WVians back to work.” Today I will vote for both gov funding bills b/c I believe we must end this harmful shutdown immediately & it’s our first opportunity in the Senate to do so. Even though they will probably fail, these votes are a start to finding a way to reopen the gov & get WVians back to work — Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) January 24, 2019 The Senate will vote on two sharply different funding bills Thursday. First, lawmakers will vote on a GOP-backed bill that includes $5.7 billion the president has requested to fund his border wall and protections for some migrants. Following that vote, lawmakers will then decide on a Democratic-led budget…

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Automation, Artificial Intelligence May Replace Chefs, Truck Drivers

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Robots aren’t replacing everyone, but a quarter of U.S. jobs will be severely disrupted as artificial intelligence accelerates the automation of existing work, according to a new Brookings Institution report. The report, published Thursday, says roughly 36 million Americans hold jobs with “high exposure” to automation — meaning at least 70 percent of their tasks could soon be performed by machines using current technology. Among those most likely to be affected are cooks, waiters and others in food services; short-haul truck drivers; and clerical office workers. “That population is going to need to upskill, reskill or change jobs fast,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at Brookings and lead author of the report. Muro said the timeline for the changes could be “a few years or it could be two decades.” But it’s likely that automation will happen more swiftly during the next economic downturn. Businesses are typically eager to implement cost-cutting technology as they lay off workers. Some economic studies have found similar shifts toward automating production happened in the early part of previous recessions — and may have contributed to the “jobless recovery” that followed the 2008 financial crisis. But with new advances in artificial intelligence, it’s not…

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Fisk Splits with Hiwassee

Scott Wallace

NASHVILLE– The Fisk University Bulldogs split with the Hiwassee College Tigers in front of a sold-out crowd in North Nashville on Wednesday. Lady Bulldogs Run Out of Gas in Home Loss Senior guard LaShae Brown scored 27 points and frontcourt mates Andria Thomas (12 points and 18 rebounds) and Kennedi Stephens (10 points 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles but it wasn’t enough as the Fisk Lady Bulldogs (3-15) lost their 12th straight game 86-71 to the Hiwassee Lady Tigers (17-3) in non-conference play. The first half was close as the Lady Bulldogs went into the locker room down by two points and were primed to deliver an upset. “At the end of the day, we have to learn how to keep our energy throughout games,” said Fisk coach Lauren Falohun. “We didn’t finish around the rim. We dominated them on the boards, but we didn’t take care of the ball. That really hurt us.” The Lady Tigers had four players in double figures led by Leisa Butler’s 22 points. After only being up by five to start the fourth quarter, they scored the first six points in the final stanza and never looked back. Hailey Browning added 17 points, J’Lynn Majors…

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Army Veteran Quits Gym after Owner Objects to His ‘Trump 2016’ Shirt, Citing ‘Safety’

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by Grace Carr   An Army veteran who wore a Trump shirt to the gym he’d attended for eight years, was allegedly labeled a racist and asked not to don the apparel again. Staff Sgt. Jake Talbot wore a “2016 Trump For President” shirt to CDY Fitness in Troy, Missouri, and was quickly told by gym owner Liz Drew that the shirt was racist and offensive, The Washington Post reported Thursday. Talbot says he began working out before being approached by Drew who told him the shirt was offensive. “It’s offensive to her and others. It represents racism, and it’s racist,” Drew reportedly told him, according to Talbot. Talbot continued working out and soon after posted a video to Facebook describing the encounter. Drew maintains that she did not allege the shirt was offensive but approached Talbot after a number of gym members expressed concern about the shirt. “I [told Talbot] it could be construed as racist and several of my members had complained about feeling uncomfortable when he wore that,” Drew said, according to WaPo. Drew claims she didn’t ask Talbot to leave the gym or to change his shirt, but privately took him aside and asked him not…

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Independent Film ‘Gosnell’ DVD a Best-Seller on Amazon

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by Courtney Joyner   Ahead of its Feb. 5 DVD release, the underdog film “Gosnell: The Trial of America’s Biggest Serial Killer” is seeing success as it reaches No. 1 on Amazon’s best-sellers list in “drama DVDs.” “We have seen this all along,” said Phelim McAleer, the film’s producer, in a statement to The Daily Signal. “‘Gosnell’ is the movie that the mainstream media and Hollywood don’t want you to see, but the public really has an appetite for the truth.” Unlike mainstream studios, “Gosnell,” which tells the story of the infamous late-term abortionist Kermit Gosnell, was supported by a crowdfunding campaign that raised a record-breaking $2.3 million in 45 days. Released in nearly 800 theaters across the U.S. in October, “Gosnell” grossed $3.6 million despite the lack of support from mainstream media outlets. “The film has been suppressed—NPR and Facebook and The New York Times have shut down our advertising,” said McAleer. “They won’t take our money because they don’t want this story told because it shines a negative spotlight on abortion.” The movie depicts the controversial investigation, trial, and conviction of “America’s most prolific serial killer,” as described by ABC News, and the political establishment media’s efforts to…

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North Carolina Lt. Governor Celebrates Charter Schools, Students’ Accomplishments

A.P. Dillon

The North Carolina Association of Public Charter Schools (NCAPCS) held a rally event in Raleigh on Tuesday that included big names such as North Carolina’s Lt. Governor Dan Forest and Ms. Aimee Viana, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE). “School choice really is about our kids. It’s about young people. It’s not about institutions,” said  Forest. “It’s not about traditional public school institutions. It’s not about a charter school institution. It’s not about private school institutions or homeschool. It’s not about those things,” Forest said. “It is about the young people. It’s about the kids. It’s about providing the best opportunity for that individual child to explore their potential and get the most out of their education.” Viana told attendees that school choice isn’t about picking this school or that one and it wasn’t about private versus public. “Choice is about freedom,” Viana told the attendees. “Freedom to learn. Freedom to learn differently. Freedom to explore. Freedom to fail and to learn from falling. And to get back up and try again.” Other speakers included Joe Maimone, Chief of Staff for North Carolina, Superintendent Mark Johnson, Courtney Samuelson, 2018 NC Charter School Teacher of…

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North Carolina Treasurer Warns of Health Plan Insolvency, Has Plans for Reform

A.P. Dillon

A December 2018 report by S&P Global suggests that the North Carolina state health plan will be in real jeopardy of insolvency by 2023 due to unfunded liabilities and rising medical and pharmaceutical costs. “North Carolina’s other post-employment benefit (OPEB) liabilities as a combined funded ratio, are less than five percent funded. The November 28, 2018 report confirms previous research by the Pew Charitable Trusts which explains that the state’s unfunded retirement/health care costs as a share of personal income are one of the worst in the country, right behind Illinois,” State Treasurer Dale R. Folwell, CPA, announced in a press statement about S&P Global’s findings. “Every man, woman, and child in the state would have to pay almost $3,200 each to cover our current promises of health care for state and local government retirees. We’re having to act because others haven’t,” Folwell said in the press statement. Folwell has a plan to save the health plan and taxpayer money. “We are approaching this like anything else and that’s ‘we attack problems, not people’, Folwell recently told Battleground State News. “Solving this is going to make a huge difference in the lives of the people who educate our kids, who…

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Professors Call Line 3 Pipeline ‘Science Denial’ During Protest at the Minnesota Capitol

Anthony Gockowski

Climate activists are continuing to pressure Gov. Tim Walz (D-MN) against approving Enbridge’s Line 3 replacement pipeline, and on Thursday protested in the governor’s reception room of the Minnesota State Capitol. In November, the Public Utilities Commission unanimously voted in favor of green lighting the project, but former Gov. Mark Dayton’s (D-MN) Department of Commerce filed a last minute lawsuit to prevent the project from moving forward. Since his inauguration, activists have been following Walz everywhere he goes, and disrupted both his inaugural reception at the State Capitol and inaugural ball a few days later. A group called Science for the People joined the fight Thursday, and told Walz during a protest that allowing the project to move forward would be the equivalent of “climate change denial.” “If Gov. Walz truly wants to consult the science, we, as scientists, unequivocally state that forwarding fossil fuels infrastructure will have disastrous implications for Minnesota’s ecosystems, agriculture and economy,” Science for the People said in a statement before its Thursday protest. “Building Line 3 is climate change denial.” Christy Dolph, a University of Minnesota professor, encouraged her fellow scientists Thursday to “prevent ‘science’ from being used as cover for cowardly political decisions.” “We…

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine States He Will ‘Absolutely’ Sign ‘Heartbeat Bill’

Andrew Shirley

Newly elected Governor Mike DeWine said Wednesday that he will “absolutely” sign the “Heartbeat Abortion” bill, should it come before his desk. The bill would ban all abortions following the first detection of a heartbeat in an unborn child. His predecessor, former Republican Governor John Kasich had twice vetoed the bill. The issue came up during an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, a nationally syndicated radio show hosted by Hugh Hewitt. While he praised Kasich for his many conservative accomplishments he said that he was “genuinely disappointed” that the governor refused to sign House Bill 258 which would have banned all abortions once a heartbeat is detected. Kasich did not agree with the substance of the bill but he felt that the ensuing legal battle would, not only fail but cost the state millions of dollars in legal fees. The issue with such a ban is that the detection of a heartbeat is deeply dependent on available technology. With a general stethoscope, a doctor can confirm a heartbeat at nine weeks. With a transvaginal ultrasound, heartbeats can be detected within the first month. The generally agreed upon time, however, is six weeks. In spite of this, the proposed bill has found national…

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OFF THE RECORD: Sources Say Bob Corker Instigated Confrontation on Plane with Prominent Tennessee GOP Donor

Jason M. Reynolds

Multiple sources have confirmed to The Tennessee Star that former Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) instigated a confrontation with a prominent Tennessee Republican donor in the first class section of a commercial flight from Washington, D.C. to Atlanta, Georgia on January 3, just hours after his term as a United States Senator representing Tennessee had expired. Corker reportedly raised his voice during the boarding process in a conversation he initiated with Tennessee Republican donor Tim Pagliara, who contributed $3,900 to the former senator’s 2012 campaign, and in recent years has been a frequent critic of the outgoing senator’s personal financial dealings while in office. Both men were on the plane after attending the swearing in ceremony of Corker’s successor, Marsha Blackburn, to the United States Senate in Washington, D.C. on January 3. Pagliara, a prominent money manager based in Franklin, Tennessee who founded and operates CapWealth Group, has been a leading contributor to many Tennessee Republican causes, including most recently the 2018 campaign of Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). One person from the flight who spoke anonymously to The Star said, “Senator Corker walked onto the plane, where multiple people greeted him and shook his hand. He chatted briefly with Mr. Pagliara as…

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Gov. Lee’s First Executive Order Directs Departments to Lay Out Plans to Better Serve Rural Counties

Jason M. Reynolds

Bill Lee on Wednesday announced his first executive order as Tennessee’s 50th governor, aimed at improving the state government’s “impact” on rural areas. He tweeted, “I’ve said that rural TN is one of my top priorities. Today I’m pleased to announce Executive Order No. 1, which begins to address improving the outlook in those areas by calling on our departments to assess their impact on the rural parts of our state.” I’ve said that rural TN is one of my top priorities. Today I’m pleased to announce Executive Order No. 1, which begins to address improving the outlook in those areas by calling on our departments to assess their impact on the rural parts of our state. https://t.co/j6ohRmZ1dA — Bill Lee (@BillLeeTN) January 23, 2019 Lee’s executive order directs all 22 executive departments to “issue a statement of rural impact and provide recommendations for better serving rural Tennessee,” the governor’s office said in a press release. “My administration will place a high emphasis on the development and success of our rural areas,” Lee said in the press release. “Our first executive order sends a clear message that rural areas will be prioritized across all departments as we work to improve…

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Todd Starnes: LIAR! NBC Says Phillips Never Claimed to be Vietnam Vet

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by Todd Starnes   The Mainstream Media will do whatever is necessary to protect Native American and professional agitator Nathan Phillips. Phillips, who was filmed harassing a group of Catholic school students, was a guest on NBC’s Today with Savannah Guthrie. On Wednesday Guthrie grilled 16-year-old Nick Sandmann, the young man who bore the brunt of Phillip’s abuse. She asked the boy if he saw his “own fault” in the incident. However, she lobbed softballs during her interview with Phillips — going so far as to dismiss reports that he lied about serving in Vietnam. “There has also been some question about the nature of your military service… What exactly is the nature of your service?” @savannahguthrie asks Nathan Phillips pic.twitter.com/PSeS1oTYGh — TODAY (@TODAYshow) January 24, 2019 “There has also been some question about the nature of your military service and this is a good chance to clear it up,” Guthrie said. “Some have said you were a Vietnam veteran, I don’t believe you have said that, what exactly is the nature of your service?” That’s a flat-out lie — and we have the video evidence. Here’s what Phillips said in a Twitter posting: “I’m a Vietnam Vet. I served…

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Commentary: Understanding the Democrats and Their ‘Vote Alchemy’

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by Spencer P. Morrison   Legend says a humble French scribe named Nicolas Flamel discovered the philosopher’s stone – the alchemical secret to physical transmutation. To immortality itself. After turning a half-pound of mercury into gold, fear consumed Flamel: what man could resist the temptations of unlimited wealth and immortality? In a show of Christian humility, Flamel hid his manuscripts and dedicated his life to philanthropy. What remained of his synthetic treasure built several schools, seven churches, and 14 hospitals. He died a lifetime later, in 1418. The Democrats appear to have rediscovered Flamel’s alchemical texts and have used their knowledge of the philosopher’s stone to transform immigrants and blue-collar conservatives into reliable voters. This has made the once-dying Democratic Party all but immortal. Family Ties It is no secret that by 1965 the Democratic Party’s future looked bleak. The exploitation of black-white tensions – the Democrats’ bread-and-butter – no longer looked like a “growth industry.” To stave off their political decline the Democrats needed a new strategy. They needed new voters. Enter the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965. This legislation (and the political zeitgeist animating its passage) had two primary effects. First, it opened the floodgates and ushered in the…

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North Carolina School Choice Week Speaker: ‘School Choice is the Civil Rights Movement of Our Time’

A.P. Dillon

“School choice is the civil rights movement of our time,” Mike Long, the President of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina (PEFNC) told the attendees of a School Choice event in North Carolina this week. Long was speaking to a group at an event held by the John Locke Foundation, a conservative non-profit policy center located in Raleigh. Dr. Terry Stoops, Vice President for Research and Director of Education Studies at the John Locke Foundation kicked off the event. “It is fitting that the first day of National School Choice week falls on Martin Luther King day,” said Dr. Stoops. Stoops went on to cite a quote about school choice from Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.: “Is it moral to tax families, compel their children’s attendance at schools and then give them no choice between teaching methods, religious or secular education, and in other matters? “Is it consistent to proclaim that meanwhile, America is a nation that prides itself on competition, consumer choice, freedom of religion, and parental responsibility? I can’t presume to know what my uncle would say about the current debate over school vouchers and choice, but I know what principles he…

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Vietnam-Era Vet Tells The Tennessee Star Report Nathan Phillips’ Claim Not Credible

Julie Carr

On Wednesday’s Tennessee Star Report with Steve Gill and Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 am to 8:00 am – the duo took a call from a Vietnam era veteran named Ben, who clarified the statement made by Nathan Phillips regarding his service as “Vietnam veteran times” was technically incorrect statement due to the fact that, as Ben clarifies, the country was downsizing at that time. Gill: Why aren’t we seeing Marines step up and say “Oh yeah I went to boot camp with this guy. I served with this guy.”  Why aren’t we seeing anyone in the media actually dig deeper into who this guy is and how his story is as false as his claim that the kids approached him. Let’s go next to Ben. Ben you’re on the Tennessee Star Report good morning. Ben: Good morning, I really appreciate you guys so it couldn’t be a better breathe of fresh air. Gill: Thank you. Ben: Ok, there was a difference between a combat Veteran which I am not, I’m a Vietnam-era veteran. Gill: Ok. Ben: I served during the period of Vietnam and conjoined American Legion but…

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South Carolina Foster Care Agencies Win Fight to Practice Faith Without Endangering Their Funding

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by Joshua Gill   The Administration for Children and Families, within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, granted an exemption to faith-based foster care agencies in South Carolina, allowing them to choose potential parents in accordance with their religious beliefs without being denied government funding. The exemption comes in response to a request from South Carolina Republican Governor Henry McMaster on behalf of Miracle Hill Ministries, which is the largest provider of foster care in South Carolina. The ACF ruled that faith-based foster care agencies have a legally protected right to operate in accordance with their religious beliefs. South Carolina child welfare agencies won an exemption to an Obama-era regulation Wednesday, allowing them to approve or deny parents based on religion. The Administration for Children and Families granted South Carolina an exception to the December 2016 grants regulation on the grounds that faith-based foster care agencies have a legally protected right to practice their religious beliefs through good works. The regulation stipulated that foster care agencies who discriminated against potential parents on the basis of religion would not be eligible to receive government funds, meaning Christian, Jewish and other faith-based agencies could not choose to place foster children…

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Republicans Aim to Jump-Start Judicial Confirmation Push After Recent Lag

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by Kevin Daley   President Donald Trump resubmitted 51 judicial nominations that expired at the end of the last Congress Tuesday night, as Senate Republicans prepare to restart a years-long effort to fill the federal courts with conservative jurists. That work has slowed significantly in recent months, prompting conservative anxieties about the pace of judicial confirmations. Two GOP Senate aides told The Daily Caller News Foundation that Republican lawmakers drafted a letter urging the White House to quickly resubmit lapsed judicial nominations, particularly those candidates the Senate Judiciary Committee advanced to the floor for a final vote in the last Congress. Those nominees will not need to reappear for confirmation hearings, though they will need to be voted out of the Judiciary Committee for a second time. The letter never issued, however, since the president returned the nominations to Congress in short order. The signatories to the letter are eager for the Republican caucus to spend more time on judicial confirmations since little progress was made on judgeships in the waning days of 2018. Former GOP Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who sat on the Judiciary Committee, refused to confirm judicial nominees from November 2018 until he left office in…

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Trump Plans Alternative State of the Union Speech

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by Steve Herman   U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would make an alternative speech after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told him there would be no State of the Union address in Congress next week—an action that he termed “a disgrace.” “She doesn’t want to hear the truth,” Trump told reporters. “She doesn’t want the American public to hear what’s going on.” The president said that Pelosi’s decision not to allow the address to Congress until the government shutdown ends is “a great blotch on the incredible country that we all love,” and her action would be remembered as “a very, very negative part of history.” He then went on to declare that the Democrats have “become a very, very dangerous party for this country.” Trump did not reveal where and when he would make his alternative address. Pelosi sent a letter to Trump on Wednesday saying the Democratically controlled House “will not consider a concurrent resolution” authorizing him to give the speech in the House chamber until the entire federal government reopens. She wrote that when she extended an invitation on Jan.3, she had “no thought that the government will still be shut down” on Jan.29, the…

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Judge Allows Defamation Lawsuit Against Greenpeace to Proceed

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by Michael Bastasch   A U.S. District Court judge allowed a forestry company’s defamation lawsuit against Greenpeace and affiliated groups to proceed on Tuesday, but dismissed racketeering claims leveled against the environmentalists. It’s the latest development in a multi-year legal battle between Resolute Forest Products and Greenpeace. “Although the Judge did not allow all of Resolute’s claims to proceed, we are pleased the proceedings will now move forward on our defamation and unfair competition claims against Greenpeace,” Seth Kursman, spokesman for Resolute, told The Daily Caller News Foundation. Resolute filed a $225 million suit against Greenpeace, affiliated groups and individual activists in May 2016 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). Resolute also made defamation and unfair competition claims against environmentalists. Resolute’s U.S. lawsuit came after years-long campaigns by Greenpeace and allies against the company’s logging and forestry operations, including challenging the company’s sustainable-certified woodlands. The company said Greenpeace and its allies orchestrated a campaign to intimidate the company and cost it millions of dollars. Greenpeace called Resolute “forest destroyers” causing a “caribou death spiral and extinction” as part of their campaign against the forestry company. Greenpeace also had a webpage that gave Resolute a list of demands,…

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Commentary: School Choice Is Breaking Down Barriers in Puerto Rico

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by Jude Schwalbach   The new year is bringing exciting developments to Puerto Rico’s education reforms. Not only will the U.S. territory open new charter schools, it will also launch a new pilot private school voucher program in the fall. The need for education reform is most clearly illustrated by Puerto Rico’s National Assessment of Educational Progress results, where students scored multiple grade levels below students in underperforming school districts, such as the District of Columbia and Detroit. Incredibly, zero percent of Puerto Rican fourth- and eighth-graders scored at the “proficient level” in mathematics. However, the island took action last year when it opened its first charter school, Proyecto Vimenti, which modeled its curriculum after Puerto Rico’s most prestigious private school. In a community where more than 40 percent of the population lives below the federal poverty line, the school’s mission to free children from generational cycles of poverty and improve student health resonated deeply with local families. Proyecto Vimenti’s emphasis on health screenings identified student struggles that might have been overlooked in traditional public schools. For instance, the school’s initial health screening quickly showed why some children struggled in the classroom: More than half of them suffered from visual…

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Supreme Court Takes Up First Gun Rights Case in a Decade

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by Kevin Daley   The Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to hear its first gun rights case in almost a decade. The justices will decide whether a New York City ordinance which strictly regulates the possession and transportation of handguns outside the home is constitutional. Tuesday’s grant marks the first time that the Supreme Court has engaged with the Second Amendment since it issued a pair of landmark decisions in 2008 and 2010 which affirmed the constitutional right to keep guns in the home for self-defense. Since those two decisions, however, the federal courts have upheld a range of gun control measures against constitutional challenges, to the consternation of Second Amendment activists. The high court’s continued silence on gun rights in view of those rulings baffled many observers and periodically drew fierce dissents from the conservative justices. “For those of us who work in marbled halls, guarded constantly by a vigilant and dedicated police force, the guarantees of the Second Amendment might seem antiquated and superfluous,” Justice Clarence Thomas wrote in a June 2017 opinion. “But the framers made a clear choice: They reserved to all Americans the right to bear arms for self-defense. I do not think we should stand…

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Kamala Harris Raises $1.5 Million in First 24 Hours of Campaign

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by Molly Prince   Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris raised approximately $1.5 million in one day following her announcement that she will be seeking the Democratic nomination for the presidency in 2020. In the 24 hours after Harris announced her presidential bid, she received an influx of primarily small donations from more than 37,000 individuals, Harris’s campaign told The Wall Street Journal. During the first 12 hours, the California senator had fundraised $1 million, with an average contribution of more than $35 per donor. Comparatively, Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders raised the $1.5 million over the same time period after he launched his presidential campaign in 2016, reported WSJ. He ultimately raised $238 million by the end of his campaign, primarily from donations of $200 or less. Leading up to her presidential announcement, the first-term senator had been actively elevating her national profile. Harris spent more money on Facebook ads during the summer than any other senator despite not being up for re-election in November 2018, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. Harris, a high-profile member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, faced both massive backlash and praise for her combative line of questioning of Justice Brett Kavanaugh during his Supreme Court…

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BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL: Trump Unveils New Slogan in Push for Border Wall

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by Michael Bowman and Steve Herman   As the U.S. Senate prepares for votes Thursday on separate Republican and Democratic proposals to end a partial government shutdown, President Donald Trump has resorted to rhyming and prayer to advance his case for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL! This is the new theme, for two years until the Wall is finished (under construction now), of the Republican Party. Use it and pray! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 23, 2019 “BUILD A WALL & CRIME WILL FALL,” Trump said in a Wednesday morning tweet. “This is the new theme, for two years until the Wall is finished … Use it and pray!” Trump’s latest remarks on his proposed wall came after the Democrat-led House of Representatives passed a bill that would provide stopgap funding through February 8, allowing the shuttered agencies to reopen while the two sides debate border security. It does not contain money for Trump’s desired wall at the U.S.-Mexico border. The Republican plan is based on a Trump proposal to spend $5.7 billion on the wall and provide temporary protections for some immigrants. The White House said Trump is scheduled to…

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House Votes Overwhelmingly to Prohibit Exit From NATO

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The House of Representatives has overwhelmingly passed a bill affirming congressional support for NATO, amid renewed concerns over President Donald Trump’s commitment to the 29-member alliance. The bipartisan NATO Support Act, which forbids the use of funds to withdraw from the alliance and states that it is U.S. policy to remain part of the alliance, passed by a 357-22 vote. Beside asserting Congress’s control over the money, the bill reaffirms U.S. backing of NATO and its mutual defense clause. It also voices support for Montenegro, its newest member, and for “robust” U.S. funding for the European Deterrence Initiative, and for the goal that each alliance member spend at least 2 percent of its gross domestic product on defense by 2024. Just hours before the vote, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell, the top U.S. diplomat to Europe and an outspoken NATO supporter, tendered his resignation amid strained ties in trans-Atlantic relations. The House vote and Mitchell’s resignation come amid tensions with European leaders over Washington’s commitment to NATO and transatlantic ties in general. The New York Times, citing federal government sources, recently reported that Trump put forward the idea of withdrawing the United States from…

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Seventh Generation Rancher Explains Why America Needs a Border Wall

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by Nick Givas   Seventh generation rancher Ruperto Escobar of Texas explained why America needs a southern border wall and said he’d give up his land to help start construction. “The problem there right now is primarily drug trafficking,” he said Wednesday on “Fox & Friends.” “I’ve lived there 75 years and let me tell you, I’ve seen everything happen there. Right now I must access the river because I have a pumping site. And I have good, workable road to the river. And you ought to see the amount of traffic that happens primarily going back towards the river. People that get caught with their vehicles full of drugs and then they speed back toward the river at very high velocity, past my house. A whole slew of police after them.” Co-host Steve Doocy asked Escobar what he would say to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi about her claim that the wall is immoral and Escobar said he’d draw on life experience and tell her to start building. “I’d say ma’am, I don’t know where you get your facts but from what we have endured, my lifetime, which is about 75 years now, of seeing the number of…

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DFL Senators Author Bill to Make Minnesota ‘First State in the Nation to Use Only Renewable Energy’

Anthony Gockowski

Three DFL state senators have co-authored a bill that aims to “make Minnesota the first state in the nation to use only renewable energy.” Senate File (SF) 425, set to be introduced Thursday and referred to the Energy and Utilities Finance and Policy Committee, was co-authored by Sens. John Marty (D-Roseville), Nick Frentz (D-Mankato), and Chris Eaton (D-Brooklyn Center). “The Department of Commerce Division of Energy Resources, in consultation with other state agencies and the Legislative Energy Commission, must develop a framework for the state of Minnesota to transition to a renewable energy economy that ends Minnesota’s contribution to greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels within the next few decades,” SF 425 states. In creating a renewable-energy framework, the Division of Energy Resources would be asked to consider a number of various factors, including the “economic and environmental costs of continued reliance on fossil fuels,” and the “creation of jobs and industry in the state that result from moving ahead of other states in transitioning to a sustainable energy economy.” Additionally, it must account for “the appropriate energy efficiency and renewable energy investments in Minnesota to reduce the economic losses to the Minnesota economy from importation of fossil fuels.” “The…

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Three Michigan Residents Arrested After Pledging Their Support to ISIS

Anthony Gockowski

Three Michigan residents were arrested Monday afternoon for conspiring to provide material support to ISIS and pledging their allegiance to the terrorist organization, the Department of Justice announced this week. According to a DOJ press release, Muse Abdikadir Muse, Mohamud Abdikadir Muse, and Mohamed Salat Haji were arrested Monday by members of the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. Muse Abdikadir Muse was taken into custody at the Gerald R. Ford Airport in Grand Rapids where he was attempting to board a flight to Mogadishu, Somalia with intention of joining ISIS. His two coconspirators drove him to the airport and were arrested shortly after. MLive reports that undercover investigators began monitoring the three in April 2016 in response to questionable Facebook posts they had made, and began communicating with the ISIS aspirants via social media. One of the agents posed as an ISIS recruiter, and was told by Muse Abdikadir Muse that he “wanted to join ISIS in Raqqa, Syria,” and that “he planned to die with a gun in his hand fighting for ISIS,” according to a criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Michigan. The complaint reveals that the three men exchanged numerous Facebook…

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North Carolina Legislature Files Motion to Dismiss Voter ID Complaint

A.P. Dillon

The attorneys representing the North Carolina General Assembly have filed a motion to dismiss a complaint filed against a law tied to the state’s recently passed Constitutional Amendment regarding Voter ID. The people of North Carolina chose to add voter ID to their state constitution and the court should dismiss lawsuits attempting to suppress their voice in the democratic process and silence their decision to join 34 other states with voter ID. https://t.co/BDewTcyyoA #ncga #ncpol — Speaker Tim Moore (@NCHouseSpeaker) January 22, 2019 “Voter identification proposals often get caught up in the false conclusion that an ID requirement necessarily suppresses votes, particularly for African-American citizens like myself,” Former state Senator Joel Ford said in a statement released by North Carolina Speaker of the House Tim Moore. Ford, who represented Mecklenburg County, was one of the primary sponsors along with Speaker Moore of the legislation at the center of the suit. “The people of North Carolina chose to add voter ID to their state constitution and we will not allow Governor Cooper or these plaintiffs to suppress their voice in the democratic process,” Speaker Moore said. North Carolina’s Voter ID Constitutional Amendment was voted on along with 5 other amendments in…

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Ohio Tea Party Group Invites President Trump to Give State of the Union Address in Columbus

Jason M. Reynolds

An Ohio Tea Party organization has invited President Donald Trump to visit the state Tuesday and deliver his State of the Union address to residents and the rest of America in response to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceling the event during the government shutdown. We the People Convention Inc. sent the letter to Trump to invite him to the “excellent facility” of the Celeste Center of the Ohio State Fair Grounds in Columbus, where he would receive “a very warm welcome,” the group’s president, Thomas R. Zawistowski, said in the letter, which is available here. We the People’s invitation joins that of other invitations. Speaker of the North Carolina House Tim Moore last week invited President Trump to deliver his State of the Union (SOTU) remarks in Raleigh. Also last week, Michigan’s GOP House Speaker Rep. Lee Chatfield (R-MI-107) invited President Donald Trump to deliver his State of the Union address in the state legislature. The president may have other ideas, however, as he said, “I look forward to seeing you on the evening on January 29th,” he wrote, according to Breitbart. “It would be so very sad for our country if the State of the Union were not delivered…

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Metro Nashville Public Schools May Reportedly Add Study of Kurdish Language to High School Curriculum

Chris Butler

The Metro Nashville Public School Board was scheduled to decide Tuesday night whether to arrange for high school students to learn Kurdish, according to Nashville Public Radio. According to the station, schools would add this to its list of world language curriculum for high school credit. Metro officials want to do this because of Nashville’s sizable Kurdish community. Nashville Public Radio did not say precisely how many Kurdish people live in Nashville. But the station did say there are more than 1,100 students from that community attending Nashville’s public schools and that many live in South Nashville. Educators are on board with the proposed plan because “they believe it will boost students’ academic performance.” “Research has shown that when a student is literate in his or her own native language, it helps them become literate in a new language faster, such as English,” the station quoted Jill Petty as saying. Petty manages literacy and world languages for Metro schools, Nashville Public Radio reported. “That would actually help them in the long run,” Petty reportedly told the station. Nashville Public Radio then quoted Nawzad Hawrami, who directs the Salahadeen Center, which caters to the growing number of Kurds in the area,…

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