Day: June 3, 2020

US Job Losses in May Could Raise 3-Month Total to 30 Million

The Associated Press

The epic damage to America’s job market from the viral outbreak will come into sharper focus Friday when the government releases the May employment report: Eight million more jobs are estimated to have been lost. Unemployment could near 20%. And potentially fewer than half of all adults may be working.

Beneath the dismal figures will be signs that job cuts, severe as they are, are slowing as more businesses gradually or partially reopen. Still, the economy is mired in a recession, and any rebound in hiring will likely be painfully slow. Economists foresee unemployment remaining in double-digits through the November elections and into 2021.

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Brian Wilson: Did Mayor Cooper Cut a Deal with Black Lives Matter to Reduce Police Protection During Riots in Return for Support of 32 Percent Property Tax Increase?

Julie Carr

Brian Wilson, the host of 99.7 FM WTN’s Nashville’s Morning News, speculated whether Nashville Mayor John Cooper arranged a quid pro quo with Black Lives Matter to reduce police protection in exchange for support of Nashville’s 32 percent property tax increase that took place during Tuesday’s hearing in the city council chambers.

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GOP Considering Nashville for August Convention, Trump Pulls from North Carolina

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Bill Lee confirmed Tuesday afternoon that GOP leaders are considering Nashville as an alternative site for August’s Republican National Convention just hours before President Donald Trump announced that he will be pulling the convention from North Carolina.

Lee’s office told WTVF that officials with the Republican National Committee will be visiting Nashville Thursday to tour the city.

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Commentary: Is China Threatening Taiwan, Hong Kong While the U.S. Is Weighed Down by Pandemic, Recession and Riots?

Admin

Is China on the precipice of an aggressive expansion into Taiwan and Hong Kong while the U.S. is bogged down with the Covid-19 pandemic, the worst recession in a generation with more than 23 million jobs lost and riots over the police killing of George Floyd?

Amid the global response to the China-originated coronavirus, in January, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was reelected in a landslide, saying she supports the current political status of the island nation, which in her eyes is that Taiwan is so independent it doesn’t need to declare independence.

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Thales Academy-Franklin Principal Rachael Bradley Discusses the June 9 Parent Meeting and How the School Teaches Reading Instruction

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Principal Rachael Bradley of Thales Academy of Franklin to the newsmakers line.

During the second hour, Leahy and Bradley discussed the upcoming Thales Academy-Franklin event on June ninth at 6:30 p.m. and how Thales will teach reading to their students.

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Tennessee House Votes to Be Second Amendment Sanctuary Amid Nationwide Riots

Admin

Tennessee is now one step closer to becoming a Second Amendment sanctuary after the state House of Representatives passed a resolution Monday strengthening legal protections of gun ownership.

Resolution HJR074, drafted in March, requires the state to “[extend] a safe harbor to Virginians and other United States citizens whose constitutional rights are being violated by elected officials.” It also affirms that citizens have a right to maintain arms equivalent “to those of their government’s basic infantry unit.”

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No Evidence White Supremacists Are Derailing the Protests, Left-Wing SPLC Says

Admin

A researcher with the Southern Poverty Law Center said he had not seen evidence supporting the theory that white supremacist militia members were responsible for inciting violence at protests against police brutality last week.

“I have not seen any clear evidence that white supremacists or militiamen are masking up and going out to burn and loot,” Howard Graves, a research analyst at the SPLC, told The New York Times for a report published Sunday. The group, which tracks anti-government extremist groups, has been criticized for calling mainstream conservative organizations “hate groups.”

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Senator Kerry Roberts Discusses the Reconvening of the Tennessee State Senate and the Traditional Salute to the State Flag

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts (R-Springfield) to the studio.

During the second hour, Leahy and Roberts discussed how the Tennessee state Senate reconvened Monday evening with salutes and prayers before the rioting in downtown Nashville.

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Mayor John Cooper Limits Prayer Vigil to Fewer than 25 People Because of Social Distancing

Chris Butler

  Nashville Mayor John Cooper held a public prayer vigil before Tuesday’s Metro Council meeting on the front lawn of the Metro Courthouse — public to the extent that fewer than 25 people could attend. Cooper limited the gathering to fewer than 25 people because of COVID-19 for, according to an emailed press release, security and social distancing reasons. But former Nashville mayoral candidate Carol Swain wondered Tuesday why Cooper limited the number of participants at that particular event — but he didn’t impose similar requirements this past Saturday at the George Floyd rally at Legislative Plaza. As reported, several thousand protestors descended upon Nashville’s Legislative Plaza Saturday on behalf of Floyd. Many carried signs demanding that government either defund or abolish the police. “The day before he sent out a tweet in celebration of LGBT month, and the next day he participates in a prayer rally. I’m always a believer in prayer. I believe that prayer can change lives and nations and cities,” Swain told The Tennessee Star Tuesday. “Once Cooper had decided to have that mass demonstration on Saturday I wish he had seen the importance of prayer at that event. Maybe it wouldn’t have turned so violent by…

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Commentary: Trump’s Greatest Challenge Now

Admin

President Trump faces the greatest challenge of his very eventful life, and also an immense opportunity to silence his detractors. Not since Charles de Gaulle faced a prolonged general strike in France in 1968 has the leader of a large Western democracy faced something so closely approximating an insurrection as the situation President Trump faces now.

Fortunately, as de Gaulle demonstrated, in such circumstances there is almost always overwhelming support for the legitimate government as long as it restores order with no more force than is necessary and in the impartial national interest.

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Former President George W. Bush on Riots: ‘Protest Shows Strength’

Admin

Former President George W. Bush weighed in Monday on the riots that have torn across the United States, saying that “lasting justice will only come by peace.”

Bush spoke out following the seventh night of destructive riots following the demise of George Floyd, a black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for several minutes, according to footage of the incident.

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Music Spotlight: Adam Sanders

Bethany Bowman

Nashville, Tennessee –  A native of Lake City, Florida, Adam Sanders knew at an early age that music would be his life.

“My mom likes to say I could sing before I could talk. It was as far back as I could remember. My earliest memories were dressing up like Alan Jackson and singing ‘Chattahoochee’ and ‘Don’t Rock the Jukebox,’” he said.

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Police: Retired St. Louis Police Captain Killed Amid Unrest

The Associated Press

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (AP) — A retired St. Louis police officer was shot and killed early Tuesday by people who had broken into a pawn shop during the unrest that followed a peaceful protest over the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, police said.

David Dorn, 77, was found dead on the sidewalk in front of Lee’s Pawn & Jewelry. Police have not released details of what led to the shooting about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday and no one has been arrested.

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Medicare to Ratchet up Enforcement Against Nursing Homes as Coronavirus Fatalities Exceed 25,000

Admin

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) unveiled enhanced enforcement actions on Monday against nursing homes after preliminary federal data shows that at least 25,923 nursing home residents across the country have died from coronavirus.

“This data, and anecdotal reports across the country, clearly show that nursing homes have been devastated by the virus,” CMS Administrator Seema Verma and Centers for Disease Control Director Robert Redfield wrote in a letter to U.S. governors on Sunday.

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George Floyd Had ‘Fentanyl Intoxication’ and ‘Recent Methamphetamine Use,’ Autopsy Shows

Admin

George Floyd had fentanyl in his system and had recently used methamphetamine before his death, which was ruled a homicide, according to a county medical examiner autopsy released Monday.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s autopsy report said Floyd experienced “fentanyl intoxication” and “recent methamphetamine use” were “significant conditions” leading to his death. The report ultimately deemed his death a “homicide” due to law enforcement restraint and “neck compression” that contributed to a heart attack.

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Host Leahy and TN State Senator Roberts Discuss Mayor Cooper’s Pandering to the Left During Saturday’s Protest

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. –  host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist and Tennessee state Senator Kerry Roberts to the studio.

During the second hour, Leahy and Roberts discussed Saturday’s rally where Mayor Cooper sat and listened to local left-wing social justice warrior Justin Jones advocate for overcoming oppressors and de-funding the police department. They noted that it was at that point Cooper should have left the rally but instead stayed and was followed by violence in downtown Nashville.

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Rudy Giuliani Says Mayor Frey, Other ‘Progressive Democrats’ Should Resign for Handling of Riots

Anthony Gockowski

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani called on Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey to resign for failing to protect his citizens from a week of riots that left portions of his city in ruins.

In a Friday interview with Fox News, Giuliani said “progressive Democrats are incapable of keeping their people safe because they have criminal-friendly policies that are pathetic.”

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Department of Human Rights Launches Civil Rights Investigation of Minneapolis Police Department

Anthony Gockowski

Gov. Tim Walz and the Minnesota Department of Human Rights announced Tuesday that the state will begin a civil rights investigation of the Minneapolis Police Department after one of its officers was charged with murder in the death of George Floyd.

The state agency has also filed a human rights complaint against the police department in relation to Floyd’s death.

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More Than 1,200 Columbus City Business Leaders Pen Letter to City Council That Supports Declaring Racism a Public Health Crisis

Zachery Schmidt

  Over 1,200 Business leaders in Columbus City threw their weight behind a resolution the city passed Monday that declared racism a public health crisis. “We support the resolution because we are profoundly outraged and heartbroken that our fellow citizens continue to see themselves in the anguished face of George Floyd pleading for air under the knee of a white man sworn to protect; hear themselves in the nervous voice of Christian Cooper, a bird-watcher whose skin tone is suddenly used to falsely suggest he is a threat; and in, the experiences of countless more Americans of color, so frequently demeaned, threatened and physically harmed,” the letter says; adding: We are proud to call the City of Columbus home – and prouder still that Columbus is coming together to find ways to deal unflinchingly with the role racism plays in undermining public health, and seeking solutions for what have felt for too long like intractable issues. Democrats, Republicans and Independents endorsed the document to show their support for the resolution. Business leaders who signed acknowledge there is work that needs to be done by their organizations and leadership. “We believe in and will work for an America that can –…

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Whitmer Fails to Discuss Nursing Home Deaths in Testimony to Oversight Committee

Jordyn Pair

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer left out information on nursing homes and other long-term care residential facilities during her testimony about the coronavirus to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce on Tuesday.

The state’s decision to place people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus into nursing homes has been met with harsh criticism, especially as the state continues to not track or report data related to deaths in those facilities.

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Mayor John Cooper Says He’s No Hypocrite for Violating His Own COVID-19 Restrictions at George Floyd Rally

Chris Butler

In late April Nashville Mayor John Cooper discussed a four-phased plan to reopen the city’s economy following the COVID-19 pandemic and told anxious business owners to remain patient because, as he said, safety was paramount.

“Every Nashvillian feels an urge to return to business as normal. Many livelihoods depend on it,” Cooper said at a press conference.

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