Judge Denies Allowing Some Felons to Vote in Tennessee’s Primary Election

An attempt to allow certain felons with out-of-state convictions permission to participate in Tennessee’s upcoming August 6 primary election came to a halt Friday.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle denied a temporary injunction request that would have allowed out-of-state felons to vote in the primary as long as they had their voting rights restored in the state of their convictions.

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Commentary: New Evidence Shows Key Fans Unhappy with Sports Leagues Kowtowing to Black Lives Matter

If anyone was hoping that the return of the long-awaited Major League season would lift our spirits and bring us together, they had to be disappointed to learn that we are more divided than ever over the National Anthem kneeling debate. And although President Trump has not chosen to join the burgeoning #BoycottMLB movement on Twitter, the president has joined a growing number of disheartened baseball fans who are unhappy that their favorite teams are taking the knee. Even before the start of the season, President Trump tweeted that he was “looking forward to live sports, but any time I witness a player kneeling during the National Anthem, a sign of great disrespect for our Country and our Flag, the game is over for me!”

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‘DISGRACEFUL:’ Marsha Blackburn Scorches Manny Sethi Supporter Zach Wamp for Now-Deleted Tweet About Female Volunteers in Bill Hagerty’s Campaign

Former Tennessee congressman Zach Wamp, who recently endorsed U.S. Senate candidate Manny Sethi, on Saturday posted — and deleted — a tweet accusing Sethi’s opponent, Bill Hagerty, of using young female volunteers “in short shorts” to attract votes.

U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), upon reading Wamp’s tweet, reprimanded the former congressman and suggested he doesn’t respect women.

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Study: 68 Percent of Workers Earned More on Unemployment with $600 Weekly Enhancement

Some unemployed workers received nearly twice as much money through unemployment insurance (UI) payments authorized through the CARES Act than they earned when they were employed, a new study from the Foundation for Government Accountability (FGA) found.

In response to states shutting down economies over coronavirus fears, Congress passed several relief bills, including the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. These two bills expanded the UI benefit period, suspended work search requirements, included newly eligible individuals, and added a $600-per-week unemployment benefit enhancement through July 31.

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Academics’ Campaign to Remove Harvard Professor for Tweets Backfires

by Maria Copeland   Hundreds of academics signed a letter written by members of the Linguistic Society of America (LSA), calling for a Harvard professor’s removal from the LSA list of “distinguished fellows,” as well as their list of media experts. The LSA did not accept their demands; and the the target of the demands says he has received hundreds of letters of support. The letter accused Johnstone Professor of Psychology at Harvard Steven Pinker of behavior that does not live up to the society’s standards and does not merit the “honor, credibility, and visibility” its fellows receive. Specifically, the academics accused Pinker of acting in a way contrary to the society’s stance on racial justice, saying he has “a history of speaking over genuine grievances and downplaying injustices.” “We aim to show here Dr. Pinker as a public figure has a pattern of drowning out the voices of people suffering from racist and sexist violence, in particular in the immediate aftermath of violent acts and/or protests against the systems that created them,” the letter states. Their evidence was in the form of six messages the professor posted on Twitter, which they say indicate that “Dr. Pinker is untenable as an LSA fellow and…

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The Status of the Coronavirus Vaccine Continues to Advance Rapidly

Researchers, governments and pharmaceutical companies worldwide have been working rapidly to develop an effective vaccine against coronavirus, which has infected over 4.5 million and killed over 150,000 people in the United States alone.

Testing has advanced quickly and there’s optimism that a vaccine will be developed before 2021. But there are also concerns that a vaccine won’t be sufficiently stockpiled or efficiently distributed. There’s additional worry that the growing distrust in vaccines will result in large numbers refusing the injection, making it less beneficial.

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Analysis: Rhetoric About a New Civil War Is on the Rise

In June, we counted 23 articles written about the prospect of a new or cold civil war in the United States. In July, that number doubled to 46. That’s no mere “uptick.”

Right or wrong, these prognostications from both Left and Right are significant for what they reveal about the nature of the political division in the United States. Interest in this topic will only increase as we approach the election in November and whatever lies beyond it.

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SpaceX Capsule and NASA Crew Make First Splashdown in 45 Years

Two NASA astronauts returned to Earth on Sunday in a dramatic, retro-style splashdown, their capsule parachuting into the Gulf of Mexico to close out an unprecedented test flight by Elon Musk’s SpaceX company.

It was the first splashdown by U.S. astronauts in 45 years, with the first commercially built and operated spacecraft to carry people to and from orbit. The return clears the way for another SpaceX crew launch as early as next month and possible tourist flights next year.

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Joe Carr Commentary: Sethi vs. Hagerty – An Obvious Choice

In 2014 I ran for the United States Senate against well-known and established incumbent Lamar Alexander. Our underfunded and understaffed campaign garnered over 271,000 votes. The largest vote total of any statewide campaign to that point and not win an election. When we lost in 2014, I thought it was over. I was wrong! We were just getting started.

Fast forward to 2020 and Tennessee once again can send a constitutional conservative to the United States Senate to stand alongside President Donald Trump. Dr. Manny Sethi is that man.

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Gov. Northam Requests Ban on Evictions in Virginia, but Economic Impact Draws Concern

Gov. Ralph Northam is asking the Virginia Supreme Court to extend a ban on evictions until Sept. 7 amid thousands of pending cases, but some critics worry about the economic impact.

The ban was first implemented earlier this year to prevent Virginians from losing their homes because of the economic hardships caused by the shutdown over COVID-19. With hardships continuing statewide and the governor pulling back on the reopening of Hampton Roads, he has requested an extension.

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Commentary: The Deep Church Helps Biden

Were Joe Biden given a Catholic rating, it would be zero. He not only stands against central moral teachings of the Church but has also promised to violate her religious freedom. Should he win, he would resume the persecution of the Little Sisters of the Poor and other Catholic groups. Despite all of this, Biden seeks the Catholic vote, and is receiving help from bad Catholics burrowed within the Church. What Archbishop Carlo Viganò has called the “deep Church” is working hard for Biden’s election.

Exhibit A of this perverse phenomenon is the National Catholic Reporter’s recent puff piece on Biden — “How Joe Biden’s Catholic roots have shaped his public life.”

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Democrats Surge in Early Voting Primary, Up 58 Percent Versus 2016, Republican Turnout Remains Steady

In the first 12 days of early voting, turnout among Tennessee Democrats is 58 percent higher than in 2016. Republican turnout for early voting is 5 percent higher than four years ago, according to data from the Secretary of State’s office.

Overall, early voting turnout is about 15 percent higher than in 2016, with nearly half a million Tennesseans having cast ballots early so far.

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Police Budgets Nationwide In Crisis After Covid, Activism Cut Funding in Half: Study

Nashville Police

Police Departments across the country are in crisis as calls to defund the police, rioting, and the Covid Crisis threaten to sap existing resources. 

A new study by the Police Executive Research Forum showed that almost half of the 258 departments surveyed are facing budget cuts. Portland City council approved a $15,000,000 dollar budget cut last month as the city struggled with riots. The Portland Police Department was forced to pay over $5,000,000 in overtime to deal with the unrest. 

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Texas County Commissioners Vote Unanimously to Keep Confederate Monument Outside Courthouse

A Confederate statue will remain on a Texas county courthouse lawn, commissioners voted unanimously Thursday.

Parker County Judge Pat Deen said county documents did not provide any evidence that the statue had ever been officially owned by the county, the Forth Worth Star-Telegram reported. Deen said the statue is actually property of the United Daughters of the Confederacy. United Daughters of the Confederacy was founded in Nashville in 1894 and seeks to preserve the history of the Confederate States, according to its website.

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Minnesota Company Gets Most Aid in Iowa Hog Disposal Program

One influential pork company has received most of the money from an Iowa program designed to support farmers who euthanized their hogs after the coronavirus devastated their industry, newly released data shows.

Christensen Farms, one of the nation’s largest family-owned pork producers, has received $1.86 million from the Iowa Disposal Assistance Program, or 72% of the $2.6 million the program has paid to date.

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Forensic Genetic Genealogy Cracks 30 Year Old Minnesota Cold Case

Michael Allen Carbo, Jr., of Chisholm, is the latest suspect to be identified using forensic genetic genealogy, a method in which law enforcement works with genetic genealogists to link crime scene DNA to commercial genealogy databases. He is the prime suspect in the murder of Nancy Daugherty over thirty years ago.

Although investigators went on to collect DNA samples from over 100 people, and the Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) was able to create a full DNA suspect profile from evidence at the scene, the case went cold. The problem was, Carbo never committed any high-level crimes that warranted his DNA making it into a state database.

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Buckeye Institute Joins COVID-19 Amicus Brief: Private School Closures Could Cost Taxpayers $252M

The Buckeye Institute Wednesday joined an amicus brief supporting private school students in a July 7 lawsuit between several states and the federal government.

At issue is a federal rule initiated by U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, directing the U.S. Department of Education to share federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) funds between private and public schools. 

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Demand for Electric Cars Fuel Detroit Manufacturers to Invest in Car Charging Stations

As the automotive industry fills the demand for electric cars, the country – and the world – will need thousands more plug-in charging stations for vehicles powered by batteries alone. And because they’re being asked to invest before that demand arrives, automakers and charging companies are struggling to raise the numbers.

Currently electric vehicles make up only about 1.3% of total new vehicle sales in the U.S., according to the Edmunds.com auto site. Electrics are much bigger in other countries, accounting for 2.6% of global new vehicle sales last year, the International Energy Agency says. There are now 26,000 electric vehicle charging stations open to the public in the U.S., with more than 84,000 plugs.

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Lawsuits Aimed to Expand Online Ballot Applications, Eliminate Signature Match Target Ohio Ahead of 2020 Election

Voting rights groups and Democrats filed two, separate lawsuits in Ohio Friday that the parties said were aimed at making voting easier in the battleground state this November amid the coronavirus pandemic. The legal action aims to expand online and email ballot applications and 

Republicans, including Secretary of State Frank LaRose, criticized the efforts. A GOP spokesman accusing the groups of “indifference to election security.”

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Nashville Council Member Steve Glover Demands that Nashville Reopen After COVID-19

Nashville Metro At-Large Council Member Steve Glover, in a fiery Facebook Live video, criticized the city’s 34 percent tax increase and said Nashville is “at war” to save its economy as people are afraid of COVID-19.

Glover posted the video on his Facebook page last week. Glover said it’s time to reopen Nashville and that “laying off people is not taking care of our city.”

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