Day: January 1, 2021

Nashville Police Say There Was ‘No Evidence or Reasonable Suspicion’ of Anthony Warner Building Bomb Last Year

Corinne Murdock

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) stated that last year’s investigation into the Nashville bomber yielded no evidence or suspicion of a crime. Chief John Drake revealed those details in a statement on Anthony Warner, the bomber linked to the Christmas Day explosion in downtown Nashville.

Drake explained that MNPD were called by an attorney to address a suicidal woman with two guns last August. The woman at the scene was Pamela Perry, Warner’s girlfriend at the time. She reported to police that Warner was making bombs in his RV trailer, and stated that both guns belonged to him. The attorney, Raymond Throckmorton III, reportedly represented both Warner and Perry.

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Commentary: Trump’s Top 10 Accomplishments of 2020

RealClearWire

This year has been dominated by the pain and suffering thrust upon the globe by the criminal acts of the Chinese Communist Party. Even amid these harsh challenges, President Trump persevered to reach historic achievements. Therefore, as the year draws to its conclusion, it is worth detailing his 2020 accomplishments, as I have previously cataloged for each of the last three years.

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At Princeton, a Racial Reckoning and a Free Speech Battle

RealClearWire

In 2015, Princeton University became the second higher-education institution to sign the University of Chicago Statement supporting campus free speech. Yet, five years later, Princeton professor Keith E. Whittington wrote that the university stood “on the front lines” of the battle over speech. Those battle lines were drawn this summer by students and faculty demanding the adoption of “anti-racist” policies, which some on campus say run counter to free speech and open inquiry.

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These Companies Are Linked to Forced Uighur Slave Labor

Admin

A number of companies and brands have been linked to labor forced on Uighur Muslims by the Chinese government, according to multiple reports.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Apple supplier Lens Technology uses Uighur workers in its factories, according to documents obtained by the Tech Transparency Project. These workers were transferred from labor camps in the Xinjiang region of western China, WaPo reported.

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New Jobless Claims Decrease to 787,000, Economists Expected 828,000

Admin

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 787,000 last week as the economy continued to suffer the effects of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, according to the Department of Labor.

The Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS) figure released Thursday represented a decrease of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Dec. 26, in which there were 803,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 19.6 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.

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Representative-Elect Diana Harshbarger Joins Coalition to Object to Electoral College Results

Corinne Murdock

Representative-elect Diana Harshbarger announced Thursday that she will object to the Electoral College results during next week’s certification.

“On Jan 6 when the Electoral College meets, I will join my other GOP [colleagues] in objecting,” wrote Harshbarger. “I stand for free and fair elections, and I am ready to fight for Tennessee and our Country.”

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Commentary: 2020’s Never Before (and Never Again?) Milestones

RealClearWire

We’ve all been deluged with lists of 2020 winners, losers, and reasons why everyone is saying good riddance to this challenging, tragic, chaotic, and unusual year.

This one has a different slant: Five “never before and never again” phenomena unique to 2020. (Yes, I know that one must “never say never,” but the following qualify as two-headed freaks of politics and economics.)

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Hearing Granted in Georgia on Forensic Inspection of Fulton County’s Mail-In Ballots

Corinne Murdock

Fulton County Superior Court has granted a hearing for a forensic inspection of Fulton County’s mail-in ballots. Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia (VoterGA) relayed the news in an email sent to The Georgia Star News on Thursday. The announcement followed Georgia Senate Judiciary Subcommittee’s motion to request all absentee mail-in ballots from Fulton County on Wednesday. The next day, the subcommittee sent their formal request to the county.

The hearing will take place Monday at 11 a.m. EST. The Senate subcommittee hasn’t filed a petition with the court, but instead has sent a letter to Fulton County officials, requesting a response by noon Thursday. Their request would include all absentee mail-in ballots processed at the State Farm Arena. VoterGA organized voters into plaintiffs a little over a week ago to obtain a court order granting similar relief.

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Delegate Cox Still Calling for Cash for Virginia Families Affected by Virtual Learning

Eric Burk

President Trump issued an executive order on Monday allowing states to use COVID-19 funds to be provided as emergency learning scholarships for students who don’t have access to in-person learning. The funds are directed at families, not schools, and can also be used by homeschooling students. Gubernatorial candidate Delegate Kirk Cox’s staff (R-Colonial Heights) said the program is similar to one that he introduced in the General Assembly.

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Fox News Gives Jon Ossoff Uninterrupted Air Time – He Accuses Kelly Loeffler of ‘Campaigning with a Klansman’

Corinne Murdock

Democratic candidate Jon Ossoff accused incumbent Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) of campaigning with a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) member, ignoring her remarks to the contrary. He made his accusations during an impromptu interview with Fox News on Wednesday. Ossoff’s allegation was based on a viral photo of Loeffler with a former KKK leader, Chester Doles, taken earlier this month.

“We have two United States Senators in Georgia who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves. This is beyond partisanship,” stated Ossoff. “Here’s the bottom line: Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. She is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she’s been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan.”
“Right now, we have a crisis of corruption in American politics. And since we’re live on Fox right now, let me take this opportunity to address directly the Fox audience. We have two United States Senators in Georgia who have blatantly used their offices to enrich themselves. This is beyond partisanship,” stated Ossoff. “Here’s the bottom line: Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. Kelly Loeffler has been campaigning with a klansman. She is stooping to these vicious personal attacks to distract from the fact that she’s been campaigning with a former member of the Ku Klux Klan.”

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Falls Church City Public Schools Plans to Have All Students Back In-Person by End of January

Eric Burk

Falls Church City Public Schools plans to have all students back to in-person classes by the end of January, according to a notice from Superintendent Peter Noonan.

“ALL students are slated to return in the month of January,” Noonan said on Monday. “We plan to return students in phases beginning on January 5, 2021, consistent with employee capacity to clean our buildings. We will open, starting with the smallest cohort and lead up to the largest cohort.”

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Ohio Governor DeWine Rescinds Quarantine Guidance for Classrooms and Schools, Not Sports and Extracurriculars

Jack Windsor

During a COVID briefing on Wednesday Ohio Governor Mike DeWine rescinded the State of Ohio guidance suggesting students quarantine after being in close contact with other COVID-positive students in school and the classroom.

“Today we are changing our guidance,” said DeWine, who continued “I know that there’s been a great deal of pain – students not being able to do things because they are in quarantine. I fully understand that and I’m sorry that happened, but we had to follow the CDC guidance.”

The Governor said the decision was based on an evaluation of Ohio students, a CDC report involving students in Mississippi, and priority the Governor has given to teachers and staff to receive the COVID vaccine.

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Michigan Business, Political Leaders Question Whitmer Veto of $220 Million Unemployment Appropriation

The Center Square

Michigan business and political leaders are pondering exactly why Gov. Gretchen Whitmer chose to veto Tuesday a bipartisan effort to allocate $220 million for Michigan’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.

Although the governor signed the bipartisan relief bill, she exercised a line-time veto of a portion of the bill that would have appropriated $220 million to the UITF.

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Vaccinations in Virginia Are Lagging Behind Distributed Doses

Jacob Taylor

Coronavirus vaccination efforts by the Virginia Department of Health (VDH) have been ongoing since December 15, but the number of administered doses is significantly less than the amount distributed throughout the Commonwealth.

According to the COVID-19 vaccine dashboard, as of Thursday, Virginia has distributed 388,100 doses, but only 64,882 have actually been administered so far.

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Ohio Gov. DeWine Announces Health Dept Curfew Order Which Contains Several Exceptions

Jack Windsor

Today Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Ohio Department of Health (ODH) Director Stephanie McCloud signed the Director’s Second Amended Order that All Persons Stay at Home During Specified Hours Unless Engaged in Work or Essential Activity.

Sources inside the state government told The Star in November that the original curfew order came as a reaction to significant backlash from Ohioans as information leaked that Governor DeWine was going to push for another shutdown.
One source said, “people in the room when the decision was made agreed that a curfew wouldn’t do anything significant,” but would be an acceptable compromise the DeWine team would accept.

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New Virginia Law Bars Debt Collectors and Creditors from Taking or Garnishing Emergency Relief Payments

Jacob Taylor

Thanks to a recently implemented law from the Virginia General Assembly, emergency relief payments from the federal government to Virginians will be protected from being seized or garnished by debt collectors and creditors.

The new law, stemming from House Bill 5068, comes as Virginians and Americans from across the country are starting to receive a second round of relief payments relating to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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Minnesota Asks Court to Raise Daily Fines Against Restaurant Owner

Admin

State officials are now seeking additional penalties against Larvita McFarquhar, a defiant restaurant owner in Lynd, Minnesota, who is being fined $250 per day for remaining open.

A Ramsey County judge ordered McFarquhar to close her restaurant earlier this month and comply with Gov. Tim Walz’s COVID-19 executive orders. But she refused and was found in contempt of court, which comes with a $250 daily fine for non-compliance.

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