At 1PM Saturday, FBI Special Agent in Charge Says No Person or Persons of Interest Identified as Responsible for Christmas Morning Bombing

  During an early afternoon press conference in Nashville Saturday, authorities asserted that investigators had not identified a person or persons of interest in the Christmas morning bombing. Shortly before the press briefing, CBSNews.com reported that person of interest had been identified: “A law enforcement source told CBS News a person of interest has been identified in connection to the Christmas morning explosion in Nashville. The person is connected to the RV that exploded.” However Doug Korneski, the Special Agent in charge of the FBI Memphis field office denied the report during the question-and-answer portion of the briefing. “We can’t confirm anybody or any individuals that we’ve identified. As we mentioned, we have over 500 investigative leads and we’re following up on every one of those. There are a number of individuals we are looking at, so at this point we are not prepared to identify any single individual,” Korneski said. But after the briefing by Nashville authorities, CBS News’ Chief Justice and Homeland Security Correspondent Jeff Pegues seemed to contradict investigators, tweeting, “@CBS has learned the name of a person of interest tied to the explosion that rocked Nashville on Christmas.” Agents and officers from the FBI, ATF, Metro…

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Six Officers Hailed as Heroes for Running Into Nashville Blast Site Prior to Explosion

Six Nashville police officers were hailed as heroes on Christmas Day after they rushed to evacuate a downtown area of the city prior to an explosion, a law enforcement official said.

“These officers didn’t care about themselves,” Metro Police Chief John Drake said, according to Fox 17. “They didn’t think about that. They cared about the citizens of Nashville. They went in and we’d be talking not about the debris that we have here but potential people.”

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Madison Cawthorn Says He’s Contesting the Election, Will Fund Primary Opponents Against GOP Reps Who Don’t Speak Out

Incoming Republican North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn said at a Turning Point USA conference Monday that he will contest the election and fund primary opponents against GOP members not publicly urging “for fair, free and just elections.”

Cawthorn said the Constitution says “that state legislators are the only body that can change election law within their own states,” video of the conference shows. He said numerous governors and state secretaries in swing states have violated the law.

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Hungary Amends Constitution to Recognize Parents as Male and Female

In an effort to protect traditional Christian values amid the world’s rapidly evolving mores, lawmakers in Hungary amended the definition of family in its constitution last week to stipulate that a mother is a woman, and a father is a man, effectively banning adoption by same sex couples.  The ninth amendment to Hungary’s constitution now also “protects a child’s right to identify with their gender at birth,” and right to “an upbringing based on Hungary’s constitutional identity and Christian culture.”

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Walmart Fueled Opioid Epidemic by Filling Illegitimate Prescriptions Regularly, DOJ Lawsuit Alleges

The Department of Justice sued Walmart Tuesday alleging that the big-box retailer fueled the U.S. opioid epidemic by knowingly filling illegitimate prescriptions and with price-cutting techniques.

Walmart transformed its 5,000 in-store pharmacies into a leading network of opioid suppliers, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lawsuit alleged, according to a press release. In addition, Walmart allegedly didn’t heed warnings from its pharmacists that there was an insufficient screening process for questionable prescriptions.

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ICE Arrested More Than 150 Aliens in 10 Days

Over 150 aliens, including 117 who said they would voluntarily leave the U.S. were arrested during a 10-day enforcement period, Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced Monday.

The national enforcement operation, “Operation Broken Promise” found that 71% of the aliens arrested from Dec. 7 through Dec. 17 had criminal convictions or pending charges, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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ATF Withdraws Proposed Gun Regulation Manufacturers Say Would Cost Industry $2 Billion After Pressure from Lawmakers

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under pressure from dozens of congressmen, withdrew guidance on a proposed regulation that gun industry leaders warned would cost them billions.

The ATF’s decision to pull its regulation regarding pistol braces follows a cooperative effort from 90 House of Representatives members who demanded the regulatory agency cease its “alarming” determination that “could turn law-abiding gun owners into criminals overnight.”

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University of Kansas Study Admits Microaggression Training Doesn’t Work

A University of Kansas study found that microaggression training does not significantly affect behavior, but instead introduces a “catch-all label for anything that causes offense.”

University of Kansas professors Zak Foste and Jennifer Ng interviewed resident assistants at two universities to determine the efficacy of microaggression training, according to the school.

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Ivy League Uses Obama-Era Immigration Tweak to Broaden Work Visa Eligibility

The University of Pennsylvania reclassified its economics department as a STEM field making it the last Ivy League school to do so in the interest of helping international students receive longer work visas after graduation.

In 2012, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security expanded the list of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses that would let graduates gain an optional practical training (OPT) extension. 

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Obhof Backs Down from Early Threat to Override Veto on SB311 but Bill May Not Be Dead

It was Tuesday, December 22, the day many in favor of a veto override on Senate Bill 311 (SB311) believed to be the last day for the Ohio Senate to consider and vote on the bill that would restore power to the legislature and check the authority of the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and its director to quarantine and isolate healthy people.

A group assembled atop the steps leading into the Senate Chamber.  Senate President Larry Obhof (R-22) stepped into the space between doors just outside the entrance to the Senate Chamber and was peppered with shouts. “Get 311 on the floor!”  “Hold the override vote Obhof!”

The Senate President looked at the citizens and repeated the talking point Ohioans had heard from the Senate for over a week – “the House doesn’t have the votes.”

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Virginia Opts Not to Join Climate Initiative, for Now

Virginia was not in the first slate of states to join the Transportation and Climate Initiative, which proponents argue will help fight climate change and opponents assert will increase costs for households.

Under the multistate agreement, a state would agree to establish a cap on diesel and gasoline sales and require wholesales to purchase carbon allowances to go over that limit, which effectively creates a carbon tax. The initiative has received support from many Democrats and opposition from Republicans.

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Minnesota Supreme Court Easing Continuing Education Requirements for Attorneys

The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday granted a petition that will ease regulatory burdens on lawyers by doubling the amount of on-demand continuing legal education (CLE) credits that are accepted.

Every three years, attorneys in Minnesota need to finish 45 credit hours of CLE courses to maintain their licenses but previously capped on-demand credit hours at 15, although some lawyers argue they are more convenient, relevant, affordable and numerous than in-person CLEs.

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Georgia Democrats Ossoff, Warnock Each Raised Over $100 Million in Two Months, Shattering Fundraising Records

Georgia Democrats Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock have each raised over $100 million in the past two months, shattering Senate fundraising records and out-raising their respective challengers, Republican Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Their $210 million total was split almost evenly, with Ossoff reporting $106.8 million and Warnock reporting $103.4 million, two totals funded largely by small-dollar donors across the country, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Though outraised, Perdue and Loeffler raised over $130 million in total, reporting $68 and $64.1 million, respectively.

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Delegate Hala Ayala Hopes to Bridge the Divide Between Politicians and the People in Virginia as Lieutenant Governor

Virginia Delegate Hala Ayala (D-Prince William) wants to be a bridge between lawmakers and Virginians throughout the Commonwealth and offer a new perspective in state politics if her bid to become the next lieutenant governor is successful. 

Ayala, 47, entered Virginia’s 2021 lieutenant gubernatorial election on July 14th, and was one of the first candidates to enter into the race that now features a dozen Democratic and Republican hopefuls. 

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Christmas Day Bombing in Nashville Prompts Curfew as Surrounding Buildings Still in Possible Danger

Metro Nashville authorities have imposed a curfew on parts of downtown Nashville after a massive Christmas Day explosion damaged at least 41 businesses on Second Avenue and collapsed one building. Nashville Mayor John Cooper, Nashville Fire Chief William Swann, and Metro Nashville Police Chief John Drake updated the public at a Friday evening press conference.

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