Day: July 14, 2020

Justice Ginsburg Treated in Hospital for Possible Infection

The Associated Press

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg was being treated for a possible infection and was expected to stay in the hospital for a few days following a medical procedure, the Supreme Court said in a statement Tuesday.

The court said that the 87-year-old Ginsburg went to a hospital in Washington on Monday evening after experiencing fever and chills. She then underwent a procedure at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on Tuesday afternoon to clean out a bile duct stent that was placed last August when she was treated for a cancerous tumor on her pancreas.

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Tennessee School Boards Association Must Provide Records to the Public, Ruling Says

Chris Butler

Members of the taxpayer-funded Tennessee School Boards Association may not like it, but public records laws apply to their organization and they must provide their information to the public.

This, according to a ruling that 20th Judicial District Chancellor Patricia Head Moskal filed this month.

As reported last year, the legal arm of the Beacon Center of Tennessee filed a lawsuit against the TSBA demanding access to the group’s records.

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Commentary: Will Tennessee’s Representatives Restore Representative Government to Tennessee?

Admin

When Governor Lee’s COVID-19 Executive Order first ordered certain businesses to close, I looked up the law on which he relied and saw it passed while I was still in the state Senate. My heart sank on the assumption I probably voted for it. However, this week’s Executive Order delegating authority to county mayors to require county residents to wear facemasks or face state criminal sanctions sent me to the Tennessee Code to see if I’d really voted for a law that would allow that. I did not, and it is time we tell our state legislators to put an end to law by executive branch fiat.

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Poland’s Populist President Duda Edges Euro-Centric Challenger Trzaskowski, Earns Second Term

The Associated Press

Polish President Andrzej Duda declared victory Monday in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness.

The close race followed a bitter campaign between Duda and Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski that was dominated by cultural issues. The government, state media and the influential Roman Catholic Church all mobilized in support of Duda and sought to stoke anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia in order to shore up conservative support.

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GOP Lawmakers Urge Attorney General to Defend St. Louis Couple’s Gun Rights After Firearm Confiscation

Admin

GOP lawmakers wrote a letter to Attorney General William Barr Friday, urging the protection of the firearm rights of the St. Louis couple that saw their guns confiscated after they went viral for defending their home against demonstrators, according to reports.

Mark and Patricia McCloskey were seen in a video brandishing a M16A2-style rifle and small handgun outside of their home as demonstrators broke through a private gate and encroached on their property line in June. Police executed a search warrant Friday and confiscated the couple’s rifle, and later their pistol, despite not yet filing any known charges against the pair, according to KSDK News.

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Nashville Authorities Arrest Another Convicted Felon and Charge Him with Gun Possession

Chris Butler

Law enforcement officers in Nashville have arrested yet another felon and charged him with having a firearm.

Per the law, convicted felons may not have guns.

“The stop of a Nissan Maxima late Thursday night for having an expired temporary license plate has led to the arrest of convicted felon Daizjohn Sawyers, 21 (pictured above), and a 15-year-old for gun and felony marijuana possession,” according to a press release Metro Nashville officials published on the city’s website.

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Judge Theodore Chuang Rules Women Can Get Abortion Pill Without Doctor Visit

Admin

A federal judge agreed Monday to suspend a rule that requires women during the COVID-19 pandemic to visit a hospital, clinic or medical office to obtain an abortion pill.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang, an Obama appointee based in Maryland, concluded that the “in-person requirements” for patients seeking medication abortion care impose a “substantial obstacle” to abortion patients and are likely unconstitutional under the circumstances of the pandemic.

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Soros’ Open Society Foundations Pledges $220 Million to Fund Efforts Promoting Racial Equality in the United States

Admin

The Open Society Foundations, the philanthropic group founded by George Soros, announced Monday that it would pledge $220 million towards initiatives focusing on racial equality in the United States.

The investment will transform the efforts of political and civil rights groups across the country, and comes as protests continue nationwide over the death of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police, The New York Times reported.

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Analysis: President Trump Was Correct About the Rapid Economic Rebound Post-Shutdown as Another 630,000 Americans Come Off Unemployment Benefits

Admin

Another 630,000 Americans came off continuing unemployment claims the week ending June 27, according to the latest unadjusted data from the U.S. Department of Labor, proving President Donald Trump is right about the economy rapidly recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic state-based shutdowns.

Since the week ending May 9, unadjusted continuing unemployment claims have dropped from 22.8 million to 16.8 million the week ending June 27, a massive turnaround of 6 million Americans who temporarily found themselves on unemployment benefits but then rapidly came off of it on a net basis.

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Commentary: In-Person Schooling Would Be One of the Safest Activities to Reopen

Admin

Most students around the country haven’t been to school since March, when large parts of the country began to lock down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the data increasingly suggests that reopening schools entails the least risks and should be a goal of every level of government.

The early hope was that the closures would be temporary, such as Michigan’s school-closure order that was originally meant to end in April—but that was extended for the rest of the school year.

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Mask Mandate Goes Into Effect Monday, Residents Notified Through Emergency Alert

Jordyn Pair

As of Monday, Michigan residents are required to wear a face covering while they are in an indoor public space or while in a crowded outdoor space, per an executive order signed by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday.

“The heroes on the front lines of this crisis have gone hours without taking their masks off every day – doctors, nurses, child care workers, grocery store workers. We owe it to them to wear our masks when we’re on a trip to the grocery store or pharmacy,” Whitmer said in a statement announcing the mandate. “Masks can reduce the chance of spreading COVID-19 by about 70 percent.

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Ohio Ends 2020 Fiscal Year with General Tax Revenue Down $1.1 Billion

Admin

Ohio concluded the 2020 fiscal year with General Revenue Fund tax revenues of $1.1 billion, or 4.6 percent, below estimates, a clear indication of the impact the COVID-19 restrictions have had on the state.

Tax revenues in June were $50.5 million, or 2.2 percent, below estimate. However, state officials noted that revenues were better than a month earlier when they were 13 percent below expectations.

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Former Obama Official Asks Walz to Reclose All Bars for Indoor Service in Minnesota

Anthony Gockowski

One of former President Barack Obama’s top health care officials said he asked Gov. Tim Walz to reclose all bars in Minnesota during a Sunday phone call.

Andy Slavitt, the former acting administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said he urged Walz and Department of Health Commissioner Jan Malcolm to close “all of the bars to indoor service across the state of Minnesota” to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

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Liberals Praise Trump-Appointed Judge for Blocking Tennessee’s Heartbeat Bill

Anthony Gockowski

Pro-abortion advocates praised a Trump-appointed judge for blocking Tennessee’s Heartbeat Bill from becoming law.

U.S. District Judge William “Chip” Campbell in Nashville blocked the pro-life measure just hours after Gov. Bill Lee signed it into law Monday. Campbell’s mother, Beth Campbell, serves as a Republican National Committee member for Tennessee, the Tennessee Republican Party confirmed.

“An activist judge barely waited until the ink was dry to promote his own pro-choice view. We cannot allow the lives of unborn children to be jeopardized by radical judges. As your Senator, I will only vote to confirm justices who stick to the Constitution,” said Manny Sethi, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate.

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