Month: August 2020

Minnesota Mayors Endorse Trump Following Biden Announcement of In-Person Campaign to Minnesota

Corinne Murdock

Six Democratic mayors from Minnesota’s Iron Range presented a letter in support of President Donald Trump during Vice President Mike Pence’s Duluth visit on Friday. They announced their support after presidential candidate Joe Biden shared his plans to campaign in Minnesota and other battleground states.

“Today, we don’t recognize the Democratic Party. It has been moved so far to the left it can no longer claim to be advocates of the working class,” wrote the mayors. “Lifelong politicians like Joe Biden are out of touch with the working class, out of touch with what the country needs, and out of touch with those of us here on the Iron Range and in small towns like ours across the nation.”

Read the full story

Order Would Require Ohio Schools Report COVID-19 Cases

Admin

Ohio officials plan to issue an order mandating schools put in place “a reporting mechanism” for parents to report cases of COVID-19, Gov. Mike DeWine announced during a news conference.

“Prompt reporting to the public, the parents, will help prevent a potential further spread among students and staff, and it will also let the public know what’s going on,” DeWine said during a news conference.

Read the full story

The Senate Continues to Pass New Legislation During the Special Session as Timing of Crossover with House Unclear

Jacob Taylor

As the Senate wraps up its second week of the 2020 special session and continues to pass new legislation, the timing of crossover with the House of Delegates, a requirement for a bill to become law, remains unknown.

Since the Senate began considering bills in Committee and advancing legislation during sessions almost a week before the House, the two bodies are currently not in sync with their lawmaking procedures.

Read the full story

Virginia Increasing DUI Enforcement with Annual Checkpoint Strikeforce Campaign

Eric Burk

Virginia law enforcement agencies have increased DUI enforcement efforts as part of the 19th annual Checkpoint Strikeforce Campaign.

The campaign began on August 26, and will last until Labor Day. It will be resumed periodically during specific holidays. The state and its partners are using a combination of ad campaigns, advance notification, increased patrols, and physical checkpoints to deter drunk driving.

Read the full story

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn’s Leadership Polarizing Many, According to Some Educators

Chris Butler

Tennessee Education Commissioner Penny Schwinn may have lost the confidence of some influential people in Tennessee, at least according to a new editorial that the Professional Educators of Tennessee (PET) published this week.

The Nashville-based PET is a statewide professional association of educators, according to its website.

Read the full story

Commentary: Gallup Poll Shows Homeschooling Rate Doubles as School Satisfaction Plummets

Admin

Results of a new Gallup poll released this week may give us the sharpest look yet at how the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted American education and what may lie ahead. According to the poll, parents’ overall satisfaction with their child’s education dropped 10 percent over last year, while at the same time the number of parents saying they will choose homeschooling doubled in 2020 to 10 percent.

Read the full story

Heidi Newfield Releases the Highly Anticipated Barfly Sessions, Vol. 1

Bethany Bowman

When I interviewed Heidi Newfield in April 2020, I provided the “where she came from” story of this Northern California horsewoman and how she learned the harmonica, became part of the group Trick Pony and wrote the timeless lyrics to Johnny and June.

Now, on August 28, after releasing multiple singles, she has finally released her sophomore solo album and it is well worth the wait.

Read the full story

Hurricane Laura Thrashes Louisiana, but Damage Is Less Than Predicted

The Associated Press

One of the strongest hurricanes ever to strike the U.S., Laura barreled across Louisiana on Thursday, shearing off roofs, killing at least six people and maintaining ferocious strength while carving a destructive path hundreds of miles inland.

A full assessment of the damage wrought by the Category 4 system was likely to take days. But despite a trail of demolished buildings, entire neighborhoods left in ruins and more than 875,000 people without power, a sense of relief prevailed that Laura was not the annihilating menace forecasters had feared.

Read the full story

Analysis: Beware of ‘Fact Checkers’

Admin

We live in an age in which information is far more accessible than ever before in human history. However, so is misinformation. How can we sort out one from other?

Well, some people who call themselves “fact checkers” claim to have the answer. They say, “Trust us.” But all-too-often, they fail to get even basic facts correct. Let’s look at three prime examples. See if you notice a common thread between them.

Read the full story

American CEO of TikTok Resigns Amid Trump Pressure on Chinese-Owned App

Admin

TikTok CEO Kevin Mayer resigned from the Chinese-owned application after less than four months on the job, CNN reported Thursday morning.

“The role that I signed up for — including running TikTok globally — will look very different as a result of the US Administration’s action to push for a sell off of the US business,” Mayer said in memo to employees obtained by CNN. “I’ve always been globally focused in my work, and leading a global team that includes TikTok US was a big draw for me.”

Read the full story

AP Source: NBA Players Decide to Continue Season at Disney

The Associated Press

A person with knowledge of the situation says NBA players decided Thursday that they want to continue the season, coming to that consensus one day after three postseason games were postponed in a protest of racial injustice.

It was not clear yet when the season would resume, according to the person who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because neither the league nor the National Basketball Players Association had announced anything publicly.

Read the full story

Michigan Taxpayers to Foot Major Portion of $20 Million Lincoln Motor Co. Redevelopment

Admin

The Michigan Strategic Fund has agreed to subsidize a major portion of a proposed $19.7 million redevelopment of the former Lincoln Motor Co. headquarters in the Northwest Goldberg neighborhood of Detroit.

More than half of those funds will derive from public taxpayer assistance, including a $5 million state grant, $2.7 million in additional tax transfers, and another $3.4 million in tax breaks.

Read the full story

Senate Advances Bill on Election Voting Provisions after Nearly Two Hours of Debate on Amendments

Jacob Taylor

The Senate advanced House Bill (HB) 5120, sponsored by Sen. Howell (D-Fairfax County), to its third and final reading after spending more than half of the three hour session debating Thursday morning. 

The topic which garnered the most discussion during the session was not the bill itself, however, rather one of the multiple amendments within Howell’s legislation. 

Read the full story

Virginia Trump Delegates Celebrate the Last Night of the GOP Convention and Trump Nomination

Jacob Taylor

Members of Trump Virginia delegation gathered at a local Innsbrook bar Thursday evening to celebrate the fourth and final night for the Republican National Convention, and the official nomination of President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence. 

Bishop Leon Benjamin, a congressional candidate in Virginia’s fourth district, was the main speaker and crowd-pleaser of the event, offering a plethora proclamations about the upcoming election and the efforts of Virginia delegation. 

Read the full story

Jobless Claims Fall Slightly to About 1 Million, Still at Historic Levels

Admin

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 1,006,000 last week as the economy continues to suffer the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Department of Labor figure released Thursday represented a slight decrease of 98,000 new jobless claims compared to the week ending on Aug. 15. The number was about where Wall Street analysts expected it to be, according to CNBC.

Read the full story

Commentary: America, Land of Heroes

Admin

Last night, Tennesseans saw the Republican National Convention highlight America as the Land of Heroes. I’m proud, as a Republican, that we are not only proud of our heroes, but we also celebrate them. And I’m grateful to President Trump and Vice President Pence for working to ensure that America will continue to be a Land of Heroes for generation to come.

It’s been said: Not all heroes wear capes. In fact, they’re all around us. And Tennessee’s 7th district has too many to count. As I’ve traveled the district the last few weeks, I’ve had a chance to meet and thank many of these heroes.

Read the full story

UN Watchdog: Iran to Allow Access to Two Suspected Nuke Sites

The Associated Press

Iran has agreed to allow inspectors in to two sites where the country is suspected of having stored or used undeclared nuclear material, the U.N. atomic watchdog agency said Wednesday.

The International Atomic Energy Agency said Iran was “voluntarily providing the IAEA with access to the two locations specified by the IAEA and facilitating the IAEA verification activities to resolve the issues.”

Read the full story

ISIS Has 10,000 Members and Has Bolstered Propaganda Efforts, Attacks During the Pandemic, UN Warns

Admin

Members of the Islamic State have reportedly attempted to use the coronavirus pandemic to their advantage, increasing propaganda and attacks, a United Nations counter-terrorism official announced Monday.

Since ISIS reportedly began to rally in Syria and Iraq this year, there has been an increase in threats made to conflict zones and a decrease in threats to peaceful zones experiencing coronavirus related lock-downs and restrictions, Head of the U.N. Office of Counter-Terrorism Vladimir Voronkov said.

Read the full story

Commentary: Joe Biden Will Sell Out the American Worker Again

Admin

In 2016, President Donald Trump won on an America first message on trade, uniting blue-collar union and conservative households to get over the top in the Electoral College in the Rust Belt states of Pennsylvania, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio.

Trump successfully made the case that America had gotten ripped off in prior trade dealings, particularly in the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and in trade dealings with China, and that he alone could negotiate a better deal.

Read the full story

Woman Who Punched Philadelphia Churchgoer Will Not Be Charged, Police Say

Admin

The Philadelphia Police Department deferred charges against a woman who it says punched an unsuspecting churchgoer during Catholic Mass on Sunday.

Police chose not to charge the suspect, who they identified Monday, because of her mental health issues, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported. The decision was made with Catholic Church officials and the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.

Read the full story

Commentary: How to Recognize a Bad Teacher

Admin

The sign of a good music teacher, I was told as a teenager, is a willingness to allow parents to sit in on lessons. A teacher willing to have parents observe their lessons demonstrates that she has nothing to hide, is open to critique or comments, and is one who partners with parents in helping students succeed. Having witnessed this policy firsthand with my own piano instructor, a woman whose students won competitions and entered world famous music schools, I followed suit when I began teaching myself.

Read the full story

Kanye West Sues Ohio Election Head to Get on November Ballot

The Associated Press

Rapper Kanye West sued Ohio’s election chief Wednesday in an effort to be placed on the November presidential ballot after the Secretary of State deemed him unqualified as an independent candidate.

West’s emergency filing against Republican Secretary of State Frank LaRose comes days after the election’s chief rejected the nearly 15,000 signatures and other paperwork the rapper submitted earlier this month in an attempt to run for president, citing mismatched information on the signature-gathering documents.

Read the full story

Gov. Evers Doubles National Guard Presence in Kenosha to 500 as Shooting Suspect Faces Murder Charge

Admin

There will be more Wisconsin National Guard troops in Kenosha, but not nearly as many as local leaders have requested. 

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday doubled the number of troops he’s sending to Kenosha to 500 to help police officers trying to quell riots and looting in the wake of the Sunday shooting of a Black man by police officers. 

Read the full story

POLL: Nearly Half of Americans Say They’ve Saved More Money or Paid Down Debt During Outbreak, Recession

Admin

About half of all Americans say they are saving money and paying down debt amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to an Associated Press poll published Tuesday.

Roughly 45% of Americans surveyed said they saved more money than usual amid the pandemic, according to the poll. Nearly 30% of respondents in the poll said they are paying down debt faster than they were before the coronavirus pandemic, the poll showed.

Read the full story

Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Takes a Big Step Toward Appearing on December Ballot

Chris Butler

Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee (AFP-TN) this week announced that members of the group and other concerned citizens would turn in roughly 20,000 signatures to the Metro Clerk’s office in support of the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act.

This, according to a press release that AFP-TN members published on their website. Members of the group helped gather the requisite number of signatures for the initiative for the December 5 ballot.

Read the full story

Judge Orders Tennessee to Mention Virus on Mail Voting Form

The Associated Press

A judge has ordered Tennessee election officials to clearly communicate on absentee ballot applications that people can vote by mail if they believe they or someone in their care face a higher risk of COVID-19.

State officials promised the Tennessee Supreme Court this month that they would inform voters about that eligibility, asserting for the first time that underlying health conditions could qualify someone to vote absentee under their plan. Days later, the justices overturned a vote-by-mail option for all eligible voters that Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle ordered in June.

Read the full story

Sheldon Silver Begins Prison Sentence in Corruption Case

The Associated Press

Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, once one of the most powerful politicians in the state, started his prison sentence Wednesday after years of fending off going behind bars.

Silver, 76, reported to a federal prison in Otisville, New York, according to a statement from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. He was sentenced earlier this year to 6 1/2 years behind bars in a corruption case.

Read the full story