About 840,000 U.S. Workers File New Claims for Unemployment Benefits

An additional 840,000 American workers filed initial unemployment claims in the week ending Oct. 3, down about 9,000 from the previous week’s revised number but still well above pre-pandemic levels.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the advance seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 7.5 percent for the week ending Sept. 26, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the prior week. Unemployment rate data lags the new initial claims report by a week.

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Davidson County Election Commission Provides Tennessee Code Citation It Says Allows It to Move Date of Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Referendum to December 15

Davidson County Elections Administrator Jeff Roberts on Thursday cited the portion of the Tennessee Code that the Davidson County Election Commission says permits them to move the prospective election date for voters to say yes or no to the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act from December 5, as prescribed in the petition, to December 15, as the commission voted to do in its September 25 meeting.

Roberts responded to The Tennessee Star Thursday morning.

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Nashville Metro Council Gives Mayor John Cooper the Power to Deputize Certain City Employees to Cite Bars and Restaurants That Violate Coronavirus Rules

The Nashville Metro Council on Tuesday gave Mayor John Cooper the authority to deputize certain city workers to issue citations against bars and restaurants that violate his coronavirus restrictions, The Tennessean reported.

Metro Health Department employees are overworked in trying to combat businesses, the newspaper said. Only workers who already have citation powers will be authorized to serve as restaurant police, according to the bill that passed on third reading. The mayor must still given written permission to workers to use this new power.

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Kamala Harris Refuses to Answer Question on Packing the Supreme Court

Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris wouldn’t answer a question about packing the Supreme Court during the vice presidential debate Wednesday.

Harris refused to explain her position on packing the court during a discussion on the nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Vice President Mike Pence pushed Harris on her position multiple times.

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Rally Against Nashville Mayor John Cooper Scheduled for Monday

Organizers have scheduled a rally against Nashville Mayor John Cooper between 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Monday, Oct. 12, at Nashville’s Public Square, located at 1 Public Square.

This, according to a Facebook group called “Stop Mayor Cooper.”

The event, the Facebook group said, will include music and art, a food truck, and opportunities for people to sign a petition against Cooper.

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Kamala Harris Dodges Addressing Whether China Is an Ally or Adversary

Democratic California Sen. Kamala Harris dodged addressing whether China is an ally or an adversary during Wednesday night’s vice presidential debates.

Moderator Susan Page asked Harris how she would describe the United State’s “fundamental relationship with China,” asking Harris whether China is a competitor, adversary, or enemy. Harris dodged addressing this question and instead focused on President Donald Trump’s actions.

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Voters Increasingly Support Amy Coney Barrett for Supreme Court, Poll Shows

Voters are increasingly backing the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett, a Morning Consult and Politico poll released Wednesday showed.

Almost half, 46%, of voters polled by Morning Consult/Politico between Oct. 2 – 4 said that the Senate should confirm Barrett, the poll found. These numbers were up 9 percentage points since Trump first announced he was nominating Barrett on Sept. 26, according to the poll.

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Mike Flynn Seeks to Remove Judge Overseeing Case, Alleging Bias

In a dramatic escalation of a long-running feud, lawyers for former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn on Wednesday filed a motion to disqualify U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan from considering the request to dismiss their client’s case, arguing the jurist has demonstrated “contempt and disdain for the defense.”

The filing by attorneys Sidney Powell and Jesse Binnall came after the defense and judge clashed several times at a hearing last week. It also follows Flynn, retire Army lieutenant general, having tried to get an appeals court to issue a writ of mandamus forcing Sullivan to immediately dismiss the case.

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Commentary: Three Inconvenient Truths 60 Minutes Forgot to Mention in Its Story on California Wildfires and Climate Change

CBS journalist Scott Pelley recently visited Butte County, California, to report on the wildfires devastating the Golden State.

Government statistics show that more than 8,300 wildfires have burned some 4 million acres to date. The flames have claimed 31 lives and destroyed nearly 8,700 structures. One of those structures belonged to Fire Station 61 Chief Reed Rankin, who saw his home reduced to a charred skeleton after a September blaze.

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Biden Says He Would Make Abortion Access ‘Law of the Land’ If Amy Coney Barrett Moves to Overturn Roe v. Wade

Former Vice President Joe Biden said Monday that making Roe v. Wade the law of the land is the only “responsible response” to possible attempts from Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett to overrule Roe.

Biden discussed the possibility that Barrett will be confirmed to the United States Supreme Court during a Monday NBC town hall.

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White House to Block FDA Vaccine Guidelines That Would’ve Delayed Approval Past Election

The White House blocked new vaccine guidelines proposed by health officials within the Trump administration, which likely would have pushed the approval of a coronavirus vaccine past the election.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which is in charge of approving vaccines, proposed the guidance on Sept. 21, according to The New York Times. White House chief of staff Mark Meadows raised concerns with one provision of the guidelines which said vaccine trial subjects should be examined for two months following their final dose, a senior administration official told the Times.

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‘Oil Barons and Railroad Tycoons’: Big Tech Must Be Restructured, House Report Says

Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google have abused their monopoly power and must undergo significant restructuring, according to a House report released Tuesday.

Lawmakers who wrote the report said the four tech companies had grown into monopolies akin to “oil barons and railroad tycoons” and suggested an overhaul to U.S. antitrust laws, according to The New York Times. The lengthy report, spearheaded by Democratic Reps. Jerrold Nadler and David Cicilline, is the result of a 15-month House Judiciary Committee investigation into the companies collectively known as Big Tech.

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Trump Administration to Sharply Limit Skilled-Worker Visas

The Trump administration announced plans Tuesday to sharply limit visas for skilled workers from overseas, a move officials said was a priority amid job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

Department of Homeland Security and Department of Labor officials said new rules for what’s known as the H1-B program will restrict who can obtain a work visa and will impose additional salary requirements on companies seeking to hire foreign workers.

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Never-Trump PAC Gave $2 Million to Biden in Virginia

Anti-Trump conservative political action committee Defending Democracy Together (DDT) has given over $2 million to the Biden campaign in Virginia, placing them second-highest on a list of outside spending in Virginia.

“They’re just another bunch of loser never-Republicans frozen out of the greatest movement in America,” said Trump Virginia Delegation Chairman John Fredericks. “They want their old Republican party back.”

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Senate Lawmakers Send Numerous Bills to Joint Conference Committees with House

The Senate sent a number of bills to be considered by joint conference committees, and appointed conferees to join their colleagues in the House of Delegates to consider legislation on Wednesday.

Three or four Senators and Delegates are assigned to different conference committees and must try to agree on compromised language for similar bills from each body or the legislation will die. If compromised versions are agreed upon, those bills will go back to the House and Senate for a final passage vote.

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Richland County Is Close to Becoming the First Ohio County to Reach ‘Code Purple’ on Ohio’s Emergency Map

  Richland County is teetering on the verge of becoming the first Ohio county to reach code purple on the Ohio Public Health Advisory System (OPHAS). According to OPHAS,  purple means that the county is experiencing “severe exposure and spread” and residents are to leave home for only “supplies and services.” The Ohio Star discussed the county’s numbers with Richland Public Health Commissioner Sarah Humphrey. The health commissioner anticipates that five of seven indicators will be triggered – technically keeping Richland County in code red. During the phone interview with The Star, Humphries anticipates that Richland County will trigger indicators: 1,2,3,4 and 6 – and not triggering indicators 5 and 7. Whether staying in red or moving to purple matters from a policy perspective is now in question. During a press conference on Tuesday, Governor Mike DeWine said “going purple has no consequences or sanctions from the state of Ohio. And that’s the same way as being red.” Consequently, Humphrey said, “Knowing that he will give some latitude will give us some workarounds. Let’s see how we can continue in-person learning.” “Given what the governor said today during the press conference – businesses, schools, everyone can stay open. Richland County…

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In the Dead of Night, House Speaker Filler-Corn Removed Confederate Statues for $83K – and Lied About the Documents, Lawsuit Claims

Virginia House Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn (D-Fairfax) faces a lawsuit for falsely denying the existence of records documenting the $83,000 removal of the Capitol’s Confederate monuments.

The plaintiff in the case, David Webster II, requested documents under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) from Filler-Corn upon learning she’d removed the Confederate statues and busts. In her response, Filler-Corn states repeatedly “The requested records do not exist.” However, Webster II discovered many of the documents in question.

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Richmond’s Summer of Blood

Richmond Police Chief Gerald Smith announced 24 homicides occurred July 1 through September 3, a 60 percent increase compared with the same period in 2019. In Smith’s quarterly report violent crime overall was up four percent. Cases of arson were up by 17 percent, for a total of 21.
“After the civil unrest we still have experienced some arsons,” Smith said. Smith was hired at the beginning of July after downtown Richmond suffered violent protests.

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Trump, Whitmer Spar on Twitter Over Michigan Supreme Court Ruling

President Trump on Wednesday praised the Michigan Supreme Court’s ruling overturning Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s emergency powers, calling it a “big win” for the state.

The Michigan Supreme Court on Friday struck down Whitmer’s emergency ruling, saying the governor had issued her numerous executive orders pertaining to coronavirus restrictions unconstitutionally, rendering them null.

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Top High School in U.S. Releases New Admissions Plan Based on ‘Racial Equity’ Lottery Instead of Academic Merit

Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) released a new admissions plan for Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology largely based on lottery rather than academic merit. The new plan proposed by FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand omits the current standardized testing requirements.
FCPS says it will admit 100 students based on high evaluations. The high school would select the remaining 400 at random through something they call a “merit lottery.”

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TRUMPDATE: Latest From the Team Trump Virginia Campaign for October 8

Welcome to the Thursday edition of our daily Virginia Trump campaign update! We will provide our readers with daily updates on the Trump Virginia campaign from today to November 3 (and after…if need be!).

It’s officially 26 days until the election on November 3 – and 23 days until early voting in Virginia closes. The deadline to register to vote in time for the 2020 election is October 13, six days from today.

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Robbed: Ohio Department of Health, Governor DeWine Take High School Golfer’s Historic Moment

Lauren Bevins made school history.

The senior golfer was the first female from Eastern High School (Beaver, Ohio) to qualify for the district golf tournament.

On Tuesday morning Bevins would have not only been the first to qualify, she would have been the first to compete.

Lauren never got the chance to pull a club from her golf bag.

The senior golfer was named in a COVID case and contacted by public health officials who told her to quarantine for 14 days. The district golf tournament fell on day 10 of Lauren’s quarantine.

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Davidson County Officials Will Not Cite What Gave Them the Legal Right to Change Date for Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act Referendum

Metro Nashville officials on Wednesday still refused to cite which portion of the Tennessee Code permits them to move the prospective election date for voters to say yes or no to the Nashville Taxpayer Protection Act.

They had ample opportunity to respond to The Tennessee Star’s requests for comment Wednesday.

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