Month: September 2020

This Group Within Florida’s Latino Community Overwhelmingly Supports Trump, Poll Finds

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President Donald Trump is winning the Cuban vote by large margins in one of the most contentious counties in Florida less than three months before Election Day, a new poll published Tuesday found.

Cuban-Americans in Florida’s Miami-Dade County support Trump over Biden by 38 points, according to a Bendixen & Amandi International poll. The poll, conducted Sept. 1 to Sept. 4, found the former vice president narrowly behind overall Hispanic voters in the county, with Trump leading 47% to 46%.

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Kamala Harris Told Jacob Blake, Who Is Accused of Sexual Assault, She’s Proud of Him

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Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris told Jacob Blake Sunday that she is “proud of him,” his attorney said, though she did not address allegations of sexual assault leveled against Blake.

Harris, who is 2020 Democratic nominee Joe Biden’s running mate, visited with Blake at Wisconsin’s Froedtert Hospital Sunday while his family joined with them over the phone, according to a press statement released by Blake’s attorney Ben Crump.

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House Revives and Passes Bill Ending Qualified Immunity for Virginia Law Enforcement Officers

Jacob Taylor

The House on Tuesday reconsidered and passed House Bill 5013, a controversial measure that allows law enforcement officers to be held liable in court for actions taken while on duty without qualified immunity as a defense.

The bill was originally defeated by the House on Friday (47-Y 48-N 3-A) with several Democrats opposing their party to vote in opposition. The bill was also defeated last Monday in the Appropriations Committee before being reconsidered and advanced.

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Ohio State University and Other Colleges Crack Down to Prevent COVID Spread Even as Hospitalizations Remain Low

Ben Kolodny

Universities across the country are taking more and more aggressive steps to prevent the spread of COVID.

The moves come as positive cases on university campuses have increased, though false positives remain an issue and some reports show that the number of COVID related hospitalizations at many major institutions remains at 0.

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Michigan Launches Ambassador Program To Guide Businesses Through Coronavirus Guidelines

Jordyn Pair

Michigan state employees will visit businesses one-on-one to help them reopen safely under a swath of COVID-19 safety guidelines.

The program, launched by the Department of Labor and Economic and the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA), features ambassadors that will visit businesses to help them navigate through safety guidelines and regulations. Unlike their MIOSHA counterparts, these ambassadors will not issue penalties or citations.

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Virginia Supreme Court Rejects Northam’s Eviction Moratorium Extension Request as CDC Implements New Order

Jacob Taylor

The Virginia Supreme Court on Friday said it will not extend Governor Northam’s order barring eviction notices and proceedings as a newly implemented federal eviction moratorium takes effect. 

Northam asked the court for an extension of the temporary eviction order in a letter on Thursday, saying more time is needed to better understand the federal order and for the General Assembly to pass legislation to further protect Virginians. 

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Former Tennessee Department of Education Higher-Ups Criticize Commissioner Penny Schwinn

Chris Butler

Three former high-level Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) officials who left the department voluntarily criticized their former boss, Commissioner Penny Schwinn, in exclusive interviews with The Tennessee Star.

The former officials spoke with The Star on the condition of anonymity.

Their criticisms of Schwinn are withering, and include the following allegations.

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Metro School Board Member and Plaintiff Fran Bush Says Constitutional Lawsuit Against Former Superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph is Still Pending

Jason M. Reynolds

The lawsuit against former Metro Nashville Public Schools superintendent Dr. Shawn Joseph and the Metro government is still pending, one of the plaintiffs, a school board member, says.

Fran Bush is one of three MNPS school board members who are suing Joseph and the Metro government. The other plaintiffs are board members Jill Speering and Amy Frogge.

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Commentary: America’s Clown Conference

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The latest act in the clown show that is the Big Ten Conference’s postponement of football this fall occurred on Thursday afternoon when Michigan governor Gretchen Whitmer green-lighted high school football in the state.
Twitter erupted into paroxysms of hope, and the Internet haruspices crouched down to read the chicken entrails. Might the decision of this control-freak governor, who a little more than a week earlier had expressed glee that the Big Ten was scrubbing football for the fall, augur a reversal of opinion among decision makers in the Upper Midwest and thus a possible revocation of the conference suspension of fall sports?

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Poll Reveals Growing Distrust in CDC and Media Over COVID Information

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American voters’ trust in the national media and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to provide accurate information about the coronavirus pandemic has plummeted since March, according to a CBS poll published Sunday.

Roughly 54% of voters trust the CDC for reliable information about the virus, a 30 percentage point drop from March, when 86% of voters said the same thing, the CBS poll showed. Fewer voters also trust the national media to provide good information about coronavirus, or COVID, according to the poll, which was conducted between Sept. 2-4 and sampled 2,493 registered voters nationwide.

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Trump, Biden Spar Over Economy, Workers in Labor Day Blitz

The Associated Press

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden and President Donald Trump spent Monday diminishing each other’s credentials on the economy and understanding of the American worker as the presidential campaign entered its final, post-Labor Day stretch.

While workers live by an “American code,” Biden said Trump “lives by a code of lies, greed and selfishness” as he met with labor leaders in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, a key swing state. Trump, meanwhile, tried to put the halting economic recovery under the best light in a White House press conference where he said Biden and his running mate, Sen. Kamala Harris, would “destroy this country and would destroy this economy.”

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Assistant Principal on Administrative Leave After Expletive-Laced Facebook Video Surfaces

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A New York assistant principal has been placed on administrative leave after he recorded himself at Rochester protests screaming “F-k the police,” video shows.
Ninth-grade Advanced Placement school teacher Steven Lysenko attended Rochester protests where he took a Facebook Live video of himself screaming about police while wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt in a video, the New York Post reported. Lysenko did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Dozens Arrested as Portland Riots Continue

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by Andrew Selsky   PORTLAND, Oregon (AP) — Hundreds of people gathered for rallies and marches against police violence and racial injustice Saturday night in Portland, Oregon, as often violent nightly protests that have happened for 100 days since George Floyd was killed showed no signs of ceasing. Molotov cocktails thrown in the street during a march sparked a large fire and prompted police to declare a riot. Video posted online appeared to show tear gas being deployed to clear protesters from what police said was an unpermitted demonstration. Police confirmed that tear gas was deployed to defend themselves and said 59 people were arrested, ranging in age from 15 to 50. At least one community member was injured, authorities said. A person’s shoes caught fire after flames broke out in the street, video showed. People were “engaging in tumultuous and violent conduct thereby intentionally or recklessly creating a grave risk of causing public alarm,” the department tweeted. “Fire bombs were thrown at officers.” A sergeant was struck by a commercial grade firework, which burned through his glove and injured his hand, and several officers and state troopers were hit by rocks, police said. Protesters, most wearing black, had gathered…

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Commentary: Trump Takes on the Real Pandemic of ‘Critical Race Theory’

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At long last, the president tackles the “critical race theory” infecting the federal workforce.
To be a freedom-loving individual in the year 2020, and to have a proper understanding of modern history and current events, is to be terrifyingly aware of just how much the liberty, prosperity, and stability of America and the free world depend on one thing and one thing alone—namely, the continued physical and intellectual health of a certain preternaturally brave, brilliant, and energetic 74-year-old named Donald Trump.

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Commentary: Desperately Derailing Donald

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The effort to stop President Trump is growing comical.

One always expects the media surprise leak of a purported hidden scandal as a presidential campaign winds down. Remember the last-minute “discovery” of George W. Bush’s undisclosed 24-year-old DUI arrest in 2000? Or the October 7, 2016 effort of the Washington Post to publish the hoarded 11-year-old “Access Hollywood” tape, just two days before Donald Trump’s second debate with Hillary Clinton?

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Rep Jim Hagedorn Only MN Leader to Sign Pledge Opposing Any ‘Defund the Police’ Bills, Resolutions, Movements

Corinne Murdock

Representative Jim Hagedorn (R-MN-1) is the only Minnesotan leader to sign the Police Pledge, a promise to oppose any bills, resolutions, or movements to defund the police. No other leaders from the state have signed this pledge yet.
Hagedorn signed the pledge Thursday. He credits his decision to American government leadership excusing criminal behavior while blaming law enforcement.

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Richmond Protest-Related Fires Caused More Than $4 Million in Loses over 18-Day Period

Jacob Taylor

Richmond firefighters responded to 48 fires believed to be protest-related causing more than $4 million in estimated losses from late May to mid-June, according to internal fire & EMS department analysis obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch (RTD).

From May 29, the Friday after George Floyd was murdered by police in Minnesota, to June 15th eight buildings, 16 dumpsters, six vehicles as well as other fires involving trash or debris, according to the RTD.

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Judge Rules Minnesota’s ’51 Percent’ Wine Rule Unconstitutional

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A federal judge struck down a Minnesota law that forced wineries to make wine using 51 percent of grapes grown within the state.

Critics say the rule is a “protectionist” restriction placed to shield the state’s grape producers from competition.

The ruling could have implications across the nation where the law is mirrored, including in New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

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University of Michigan Graduate Student Employees to Go on Strike

Jordyn Pair

The graduate student union at the University of Michigan has voted to go on strike beginning Tuesday, the group announced on Monday.

The Graduate Employees’ Organizations represents Graduate Student Instructors and Graduate Student Staff Assistants at Ann Arbor-based University of Michigan.

The four-day strike is protesting the university reopening for in-person classes during the coronavirus pandemic and has the potential to be reauthorized for a longer work stoppage. The union called the strike a “historic moment.”

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In Battlegrounds, Absentee Ballot Rejections Could Triple

The Associated Press

Thousands of absentee ballots get rejected in every presidential election. This year, that problem could be much worse and potentially pivotal in hotly contested battleground states.

With the coronavirus creating a surge in mail-in balloting and postal delays reported across the country, the number of rejected ballots in November is projected to be significantly higher than previous elections.

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Tennessee Man Seeking Pardon from Donald Trump for Non-Violent Crime Has Changed the Lives of Troubled Youths

Chris Butler

At age 30, Robert Sherrill had served his time for a drug-related felony and was out of prison, destined for greater things, but more struggles were approaching.

In 2015 Sherrill started his own company, Imperial Cleaning Systems, which he said reaches nearly $1 million in revenue with more than 20 employees. He published an autobiography, The Journey Back to Now.

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Exclusive: Creator of Capitol Hill Musical ‘K Street’ Hosts First Zoom Table Read Wednesday

Neil W. McCabe

The creator and producer of “K Street, NW: A Capitol Hill Musical” told the Star News Network what motivated him to capture search for love while balancing principle and compromise in Washington and set it to music.

“It is about a young woman from Iowa, who comes to Washington, D.C, to be a Hill intern and as she learns about Capitol Hill, she rises up the ranks to become a chief of staff for a senator with promising political prospects,” said Karl Amadeus Notturno, who is a Publicus Fellow at the Claremont Institute.

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Truancy Letters Sent to Parents of Virtual Learners Should Be ‘Thrown in the Trash,’ Metro Nashville School Board Member Fran Bush Says

Jason M. Reynolds

Metro Nashville reportedly sent nearly 6,000 truancy letters to the parents of students doing virtual learning, and one school board member says that is wrong and the letters should be “thrown in the trash.”

School Board member Fran Bush made the comment to The Tennessee Star on Sunday.

MNPS sent the truancy letters because of poor student attendance in distance learning, NewsChannel 5 said. The letters threaten legal action against parents or guardians of students who have five or more unexcused absences.

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Coalition Argues Taxpayer Dollars Should Fund Students, Not Institutions

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More than 60 organizations in the U.S. have created a movement – “Yes. Every kid” – promoting policies and funding at a national and local level that focus on the needs of families and students over institutions.

At a time when tens of millions of students face nearly six months without consistent schooling, and while many schools are not reopening, the coalition argues that tax and other dollars should be sent directly to families to determine which educational opportunities are best for them.

“Families have already paid for the ability to access public education” through tax dollars, the coalition says. “Any additional funds should be provided directly to families via grants, stipends, rebates, or other mechanisms designed to help cover the schooling, courses, devices, connectivity, tutoring, socialization, extracurricular activities, and other forms of learning that have been left to parents to pay for.”

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Harris’ Mostly Virtual Campaign to get Wisconsin Road Test

The Associated Press

Kamala Harris told a friendly crowd of Hollywood donors on Thursday they’d be surprised by how many states she’s visiting daily, if only virtually.

Earlier in the week, she’d campaigned before supporters in Minnesota, California and Connecticut, and she was greeting Missouri donors next.

Harris hasn’t been on a plane in more than a month. Three weeks after joining Joe Biden as the Democratic vice presidential nominee, the California senator is still campaigning largely in front of a computer screen to relatively small audiences.

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Fraternal Order of Police Endorses Trump, Including Lodge in Biden’s Home State

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The Fraternal Order of Police, one of the nation’s largest law enforcement organizations, on Friday unanimously gave its national endorsement to President Trump’s re-election, while its local lodge in Delaware turned its back on home state son Joe Biden to also support the GOP nominee.

“Look at what the national discourse has focused on for the last six months. President Trump has shown time after time that he supports our law enforcement officers and understands the issues our members face every day,” FOP National President Patrick Yoes said in announcing the endorsement. “The FOP is proud to endorse a candidate who calls for law and order across our nation. He has the full and enthusiastic support of the FOP.”

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Bishop Aubrey Shines Tells Sebastian Gorka Why Conservative Clergy of Color Demands Meeting with CEO of Nike to Stop Support of BLM

Julie Carr

During Saturday’s podcast of America First with Sebastian Gorka, host Gorka welcomed Conservative Clergy of Color member Bishop Aubrey Shines to the show to discuss his recent announcement that takes the CEO of Nike to task for contributing to a communist country and using slave labor for production while using his athlete foot soldiers to promote divisiveness in America.

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Steve Bannon Presents: CCP’s Plan for Global Domination

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An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.

Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.

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Peter Strzok Defends FBI Against FISA Abuse Allegations, Says Agents Were ‘Overworked’

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Former FBI official Peter Strzok defended the bureau’s surveillance of former Trump aide Carter Page in an interview aired Sunday, attributing failures found in a government watchdog report to agents being “overworked.”

“I don’t think at all that it’s anything improper. You get people who are overworked, who make mistakes — and don’t get me wrong, inexcusable mistakes,” Strzok said in an interview with “CBS Sunday Morning.”

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Michigan’s Top Elections Official Says That Results Won’t Be Available November 3

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Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said Sunday that it could take up to a week to count all of Michigan’s absentee ballots for November’s election.

“We should be prepared for this to be closer to an election week, as opposed to an Election Day,” she said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “The bottom line is we are not going to have the full results and a counting of all of our ballots on election night.”

Benson said that Michigan’s election officials were “laser-focused” on ensuring that all ballots are counted accurately, and referenced how her office had purchased more voting tabulators in order to ensure that the influx of absentee ballots could be counted as efficiently as possible.

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Ohio School Bans ‘Thin Blue Line’ Flag

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An Ohio county commissioner asked a superintendent on Tuesday to step down for banning thin blue line flags from “pre-game activities,” according to letters obtained by a local NBC affiliate.
Geauga County Commissioner Ralph Spidalieri criticized Superintendent Michael Hanlon Jr.’s announcement that thin blue line flags would be prohibited from school activities after members of the Chardon football team carried one onto the field before a Friday game, 3WKYC Studios reported.

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