The Supreme Court Keeps Trump Taxes Private for Now

Rejecting President Donald Trump’s complaints that he’s being harassed, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday in favor of a New York prosecutor’s demands for the billionaire president’s tax records. But in good political news for Trump, his taxes and other financial records almost certainly will be kept out of the public eye at least until after the November election.

In a separate case, the justices kept a hold on banking and other documents about Trump, family members and his businesses that Congress has been seeking for more than a year. The court said that while Congress has significant power to demand the president’s personal information, it is not limitless.

Read the full story

Commentary: Big Philanthropy and the Battle Against ‘Systemic Racism’

Who would have thought the Gates Foundation would endorse tearing down statues of Christopher Columbus, Ulysses S. Grant, George Washington, and other dead white men?

Sure, you won’t find “mob violence,” “vandalism,” or “destruction of public property” in any grant applications, but the paroxysms of rage racking our country and the desire to rip racism from America by root and branch is the end-product of Big Philanthropy’s governing ideology.

Read the full story

US Sanctions Chinese Officials Over Repression of Minorities

The United States on Thursday imposed sanctions on three senior officials of the Chinese Communist Party, including a member of the ruling Politburo, for alleged human rights abuses targeting ethnic and religious minorities that China has detained in the western part of the country.

The decision to bar these senior officials from entering the U.S. is the latest of a series of actions the Trump administration has taken against China as relations deteriorate over the coronavirus pandemic, human rights, Hong Kong and trade. Just a day earlier, the administration had announced visa bans against officials deemed responsible for barring foreigners’ access to Tibet. Thursday’s step, however, hits a more senior level of leadership and is likely to draw a harsh response from Beijing.

Read the full story

Nashville Mayor John Cooper Says Dramatic Tax Increases on Struggling Businesses Are Necessary

Because of COVID-19, Nashville business owners will likely have their worst year ever, but Mayor John Cooper said at Thursday’s press conference that they and others in the city must still pay dramatically higher property taxes.

As The Tennessee Star reported last month, Nashville Metro Council members voted to impose a 34 percent property tax hike upon city residents.

Read the full story

Missing Seoul Mayor’s Body Found After Massive Search

The missing mayor of South Korea’s capital, reportedly embroiled in sexual harassment allegations, was found dead early Friday, more than half a day after giving his daughter a will-like message and then leaving home, police said.

Police said they located Park Won-soon’s body near a traditional restaurant in wooded hills in northern Seoul, more than seven hours after they launched a massive search for him.

Read the full story

FrankTown Open Hearts Executive Director Chris Barnhill Discusses His Organization’s Work To Help Underprivileged Children Become Productive Citizens

Live from Music Row Monday 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 FrankTown Open Hearts Executive Director Chris Barnhill to the studio.

During the third hour, Barnhill described FrankTown Open Hearts as a ministry dedicated to offering less fortunate kids in Franklin, Tennessee exposure to jobs and experiences that they normally wouldn’t get.

Read the full story

Memphis-Based Varsity Spirit Founder Endorses Manny Sethi for U.S. Senate

Memphis-based Varsity Spirit founder Jeff Webb this week endorsed Manny Sethi’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate.

According to a press release Sethi emailed Thursday, Webb built Varsity Spirit from startup to annual revenues approaching $2 billion with 8,000 employees in all 50 states. He also founded and chairs American Populists, a political organization dedicated to restoring America’s middle class.

Read the full story

Carol Swain Reflects on Her Meeting with Vice President Pence and Expresses Her Concerns on Race Relations

Live from Music Row Thursday 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 Dr. Carol Swain to the studio.

During the second hour, Swain described her recent visit to the White House where she advised Vice President Mike Pence on race relations in America and in particular her concern of the Black Lives Matter protests. She disclosed to the listeners that Nashville, Atlanta and Dallas were on the radar for groups like Antifa.

Read the full story

Carol Swain: Governor Lee and Mayor Cooper’s Mask Mandates Appear to Target Conservatives

Live from Music Row Thursday 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 Dr. Carol Swain to the studio.

At the end of the second hour, Swain questioned the science behind Governor Lee and Mayor Cooper’s mask mandates suggesting that it appears that conservatives are the target of citations.

Read the full story

Buckeye Institute Sues Over Law Allowing Columbus to Collect Income Taxes From Commuters Despite Emergency Order Preventing Them from Working in the City

The Buckeye Institute said that it and three employees filed a lawsuit over the taxing of workers’ income in Columbus since they do not live in the city and were not allowed to work there during Ohio’s Stay-at-Home order.

The lawsuit, which is available here, was filed in the Court of Common Pleas in Franklin County.

Read the full story

Minnesota’s Unemployment Numbers Exhibit Slight Increase

New unemployment claims increased slightly in Minnesota last week, as well as overall total unemployment, running opposite from the falling national trend reported by the U.S. Department of Labor.

The week-over-week numbers reported for Minnesota the week ending July 4 show 19,886 new initial claims, an increase of 513 initial unemployment claims from the previous week’s 19,373 new claims.

Read the full story

DOJ Announces Twin Cities Violent Crimes Task Force In Response to ‘Extraordinary Spike’ in Violence

The Department of Justice announced the formation of a new Twin Cities Violent Crimes Task Force Wednesday in response to an “extraordinary spike in gun violence and violent crimes.”

Erica MacDonald, U.S. attorney for the District of Minnesota, said the task force will bring together federal and state resources to assist local law enforcement in investigating, arresting, and prosecuting individuals responsible for gun violence.

Read the full story

Michigan State University Administrator Resigns Over Police Research After Petition Pressure

Michigan State University administrator Stephen Hsu has resigned as vice president of research and innovation after a petition called for his removal over Hsu touting Michigan State research that found police are not more likely to shoot African-Americans.

Hsu had given a small amount of funding to the author of a 2019 study title “Officer characteristics and racial disparities in fatal officer-involved shootings.” The study had gained national recognition after it was cited by Heather MacDonald in the Wall Street Journal as evidence that systemic racism in policing is nonexistent, according to The Blaze.

Read the full story

Jason Lewis Says Parents Should Be Refunded for Property Taxes If Schools Don’t Reopen

Republican Senate candidate Jason Lewis said parents should be refunded for property tax payments and tuition if schools aren’t allowed to reopen in the fall.

“The more we learn about COVID, the more it becomes apparent that we have done a huge disservice to our children in the way we have handled this virus. Research has proven that COVID presents minimal risks to young people. But what isn’t minimal is the toll this prolonged lockdown and social isolation has on our kids’ social, mental, and physical well-being,” Lewis said in a statement released Wednesday.

Read the full story

George Floyd Protests Cause Nearly $158,000 in Ohio Statehouse Damages

  Repairing damage to the Ohio Statehouse and surrounding Capitol Square that occurred during protests against racial injustice will cost about $158,000, according to the board that oversees the property. That tally from protests in Columbus between May 28 and June 18 doesn’t include repairs for damage on other state property or expenses for the Ohio State Highway Patrol, according to the Capitol Square Review and Advisory Board. Windows broken at the Statehouse have been boarded up since protests in late May. In June, the Statehouse was defaced with red hand prints and the phrase “hands up, don’t shoot” in protest of police brutality. Lights, trash cans and a bench also were damaged, according to a statement from the Capitol Square board. The board said it hired a professional service to remove graffiti from the limestone building and monuments on the property. As a result of these recent protests, Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder has thought about making changes to who protects the Capitol. The Speaker announced in late June that he was investigating whether the Ohio Capitol can be annexed from the City of Columbus’ city limits because the city did not protect the Capitol from protests.…

Read the full story

State Capitol Commission Votes to Move Nathan Bedford Forrest Bust from Capitol After In-Person Request by Gov. Lee

After Governor Bill Lee weighed in on the State Capitol Commission (SCC) vote regarding the removal of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust from the second floor of the State Capitol, by a 9 to 2 vote the body complied with his request.

The original motion of removing just the bust of Nathan Bedford Forrest was amended to include the monuments to two of Tennessee’s other military heroes, Admirals David Farragut and Albert Gleaves.

Read the full story