Social media giant Twitter on Friday night permanently banned President Donald Trump from its servers for what it said were violations of the Twitter rules.
Read the full storyTwitter Bans President Trump Permanently
Day: January 8, 2021
Democrats Set to Control the Sentate as David Perdue Concedes to Jon Ossoff
In a move that will effectively give Democrats the majority in the U.S. Senate, incumbent U.S. Senator David Perdue (R-GA) has conceded his reelection bid to his Democrat challenger.
In a concession statement, Perdue did not mention his opponent, Senator-Elect Jon Ossoff, by name.
Read the full storyTrump Says He Will Not Attend Biden’s Inauguration
President Trump tweeted Friday – after Twitter reactivated his account – that he will not attend Democrat Joe Biden’s Jan. 20 inauguration and that his supporters should feel assured that they will “not be disrespected or treated unfairly” as the White House turns over to a new administration.
Read the full storyTennessee Claims Number One Spot for First Time on Yearly Migration Trends
Tennessee posted the largest net gain of U-Haul trucks crossing its borders in 2020, making it the Number One U-Haul growth state for the first time. This, according to a press release that U-Haul company officials published this week.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Mainstream Media and Social Media Oligarchs Are to Blame for the D.C. Rioting
The Mainstream Media Are to blame for the D.C. rioting. Through four years they relentlessly pursued a single-minded goal: to take down the fairly-and-squarely democratically elected presidency of Donald Trump. Towards that end, they escalated non-stories into major “news” and elevated non-entities into major public figures. As they did in 2014 with the tragic crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight MH17, they contorted serious news into theater and abandoned their duties to investigate honestly and report dispassionately, fairly, and responsibly.
Read the full storyCaller Troy Describes Wednesday’s Trump Rally as Witnessing a Peaceful Gathering Among Trump Supporters Infiltrated by Antifa
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed a caller named Troy who gave a first-hand account of what he experienced at Wednesday’s Trump rally in Washington, D.C.
Read the full storyThe Tennessee Star Sr. Reporter Laura Baigert Gives First Hand Account of Trump Rally Held Wednesday Afternoon in Washington
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Senior Reporter for the Tennessee Star Laura Baigert to the newsmakers line to give her first-hand account of the Trump rally Wednesday morning.
Read the full storyPolice: Protest Outside Hawley Home Not ‘That Big of a Deal’
The Vienna Police department who responded to protestors who gathered outside of Sen. Josh Hawley’s (R-Mo.) Virginia home Monday evening said “people were peaceful” and left after officers explained local picketing laws, contradicting Hawley who said protesters had threatened his family and “vandalized” his door.
Protesters gathered outside Hawley’s Northern Virginia home in response to his announcement that he would be opposing President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory, The Hill reported.
Read the full storyUniversity of Tennessee at Chattanooga Assistant Football Coach Fired for Tweet Criticizing Stacey Abrams
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga’s (UTC) assistant football coach, Chris Malone, was fired for a tweet criticizing Democratic activist Stacey Abrams. Due to her voting rights organizations and work mobilizing voters, Abrams was given much of the credit for the projected wins of Georgia’s two Democratic Senate candidates during the runoff elections this week.
The tweet was published just before midnight on Tuesday. Malone’s Twitter account has since been deactivated.
Read the full storyPaul’s Annual Report Details More Than $54B in Wasteful Federal Government Spending
Congress “spent as never before, doing so ostensibly without a care” in 2020, greatly contributing to what is now a $3.1 trillion deficit, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, argues in his annual wasteful spending report.
At the same time, initial 15-day lockdowns to stop the spread of the coronavirus turned into nearly year-long lockdowns, Paul said, “wreaking havoc on Americans’ health, sanity, and economy, while also empowering petty tyrants across the country.”
Read the full storyTennessee Senate Considers Bill to Allow First Responders to Live Outside the Jurisdictions They Serve
State Senator Brian Kelsey (R-Germantown) on Wednesday filed SB 29 which would allow first responders to live where they choose, the Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus said in a statement.
Kelsey posted on the caucus’ Facebook page, “This is a public safety bill. It will enable us to hire more police officers, which will help us fight our rising crime rates.”
Read the full storyCapitol Police Say Four Dead, 52 Arrested at Wednesday’s Massive ‘Stop the Steal’ Rally
Washington, D.C. police announced Wednesday that four people died during riots following the Stop the Steal rally on Capitol Hill.
Rioters stormed the United States Capitol building Wednesday, committing acts of vandalism and postponing the certification process as members of Congress were forced to evacuate the building.
Between Wednesday night and Thursday morning, authorities have made at least 68 arrests, police announced Thursday. Five of these arrests were for illegal possession of firearms, and two people were arrested for other weapons, police said. Police also said they arrested 28 additional people for violating curfew.
Read the full storySecond Avenue Owner of Simply the Best and Ensemble Geoffrey Lee Discusses the Loss of His Businesses in Nashville Downtown Blast
Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Downtown Nashville small business owner Geoffrey Lee to the newsmakers line to talk about the loss of his two retail businesses in the bombing Christmas Day.
Read the full storyNew Jobless Claims Come in at 787,000, Economists Expected 815,000
The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims stayed at 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 no change in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Jan. 2, in which there were also 787,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 19.2 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.
Read the full storyNashville Police Announce Five-Member Group Will Review 2019 Response to Bombing Suspect Anthony Warner’s Home
Metro Nashville Police (MNPD) Chief John Drake today announced that five people will lead an After Action Review of the MNPD’s response to bombing suspect Anthony Warner’s Bakertown Road home in August 2019. Three of the five people come from outside the police department.
Read the full storyRollout Leaves More Than 70 Percent of COVID-19 Vaccines Unused
More than 70 percent of COVID-19 vaccines have gone unused, still sitting in freezers US health officials said on Monday.
In Daytona Beach, hundreds of senior citizens camped out in their vehicles in chilly overnight temperatures in the low 40s to secure a place in a vaccination line Tuesday morning, a day after seniors jammed the roads to the vaccination site, NBC Miami reported.
Read the full storyBiden Says Black Lives Matter Protesters Would ‘Have Been Treated Very Differently’ Than Capitol Rioters
President-elect Joe Biden on Thursday said Black Lives Matter activists would “have been treated very, very differently” if they had stormed the Capitol instead of President Donald Trump supporters.
“No one can tell me that if it had been a group of Black Lives Matter protesting yesterday, there wouldn’t — they wouldn’t have been treated very, very differently than the mob of thugs that stormed the Capitol,” Biden said during a speech in Wilmington, Delaware.
Read the full storyCommentary: It’s Time for Mitch to Go
Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who currently holds what I suppose we now call the Office of the Outgoing Senate Majority Leader, has to go. He’s a man unsuited for the times. The results prove it.
It is McConnell who has been the architect of Republican defeat in the Senate. Heading into the 2016 election, there were 54 Republican senators. After the election there were 52. Then, in 2018, McConnell backed the disastrous candidacy of Martha McSally for an open seat in Arizona. It was McConnell who picked her and crowded out other viable candidates. That year McSally lost by 2.4 percentage points to Kyrsten Sinema while, at the same time, Republican Doug Ducey cruised to a nearly 15-point win as Arizona’s governor.
Read the full storySenator Kelly Loeffler Concedes to Raphael Warnock
United States Senator Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) conceded her race to Democrat challenger Rev. Raphael Warnock Thursday evening.
“I want to thank every Georgian, and every single American who believed in me and our campaign,” Loeffler said in a video posted on her Twitter page. “We accomplished so much in a short time. From delivering relief to hard-working Georgians during this pandemic, to funding our rural hospitals and healthcare, advocating for our farmers, our veterans, for school choice and families, for standing up for conservative American values.”
Read the full storySenators Blackburn, Hagerty Back Away from Trump to Certify Electoral College
U.S Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty (both R-TN) reversed course late Wednesday night and allowed Arizona’s disputed electoral votes to be counted, WJHL reported.
Just last week, the duo had pledged to contest the Electoral College results, The Tennessee Star reported.
Read the full storySenator Kelly Loeffler Reversed Decision to Object to Electoral College Results Following Capitol Riots
Senator Kelly Loeffler reversed course following the riots at the Capitol, accepting rather than objecting as promised to the Electoral College certification. Her acceptance of the results also followed her projected loss to Democratic candidate Raphael Warnock in their runoff election.
Loeffler shared that the protestors who breached the barricaded Capitol grounds and infiltrated the Capitol itself were the reason why she changed her decision.
Read the full storyJim Renacci Holds Town Hall Meeting to ‘Plan Ohio’s Future’
Former United States Representative from Ohio’s 16th congressional district, Jim Renacci, held a special town hall meeting on Thursday to “plan Ohio’s future.” “I want to talk about yesterday,” began Renacci. “As someone who served in the House, and even though I wasn’t there yesterday, it is a moment I will never forget.” The former congressman continued by saying people who broke the law weren’t Trump people, Biden supporters, Democrats or Republicans, they were “criminals who broke the law and should be prosecuted to the fullest extent.” Renacci, a Republican, is Chairman of Ohio’s Future Foundation, a policy organization he began after the 2018 election. Renacci began the 2018 election by competing for the Republican nomination for Governor but left that race to compete for one of Ohio’s seats in the U.S. Senate. Despite winning the GOP nomination, Renacci lost the general election to current U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D). “Many are concerned about DC,” said Renacci, who spent eight years in the U.S. capital city but left because he realized “it was broken.” The state gives the federal government excess power and the primary reason, according Renacci, is that Ohio borrows money from the feds. The Ohio Checkbook,…
Read the full storyAll Four Virginia Republican Congressmen Challenge Pennsylvania’s Electors
All four of Virginia Republican congressmen voted in support of objections to at least one state’s electors, joining 147 Republican representatives from across the country, according to The Washington Post. Congressmen Ben Cline (R-VA-06), Bob Good (R-VA-05), Morgan Griffith (R-VA-09), and Rob Wittman (R-VA-01) all voted to support objections to Pennsylvania’s electors. Of the four, Wittman was the only one who did not also support a challenge to Arizona’s electors. The objections for both states were defeated, and objections to other states did not have enough support in the 117th Congress to go to a vote.
Read the full storyRetired Judges Select Eight Citizens to Serve on Virginia Redistricting Commission
A selection committee of five retired judges on Wednesday chose the eight citizens who will serve on the Virginia Redistricting Commission, completing the membership determination process for the newly-implemented body tasked with proposing plans for redrawing the Commonwealth’s 111 congressional and legislative districts.
The judges met for several hours on Wednesday morning and had to come up with the eight names from a pool of 62 finalists.
Read the full storyDominion Energy Announces Equity Scholarship for Minority College Students
Utilities provider Dominion Energy has announced $500,000 in 2021 scholarships aimed at helping underrepresented minority high school seniors or graduates enrolling in college or vocational schools for the upcoming academic year.
“We have partnered with historically black colleges and universities for nearly 40 years, offering volunteer and financial support,” Dominion Energy’s Executive Chairman Thomas F. Farrell, II, said in a press release. “This scholarship program is another way for us to support the students who will one day lead our nation.”
Read the full storyMinnesota Gov. Walz Ends Indoor Dining Ban on Monday, Loosens COVID-19 Restrictions on Gyms and Other Venues
Gov. Tim Walz announced Wednesday the lifting of some COVID-19 restrictions starting Monday on restaurants, gyms, and entertainment venues.
Walz cited improving COVID-19 numbers and a rollout of the vaccine in his decision.
Read the full storyFive Ohio Representatives Among Those Who Objected to Electoral College Certification
Of the 147 Republicans that objected to certifying the results of the Electoral College on Wednesday, five of them were representatives from Ohio.
Read the full storyRalston: Georgia Lawmakers to Address Election Reform, COVID-19 Relief in Legislative Session
Election policy reform will be a top priority for Georgia lawmakers when the General Assembly convenes next week, House Speaker David Ralston said Thursday.
Ralston said he plans to appoint a special committee on election integrity to increase confidence in the state’s voting process.
Read the full storyFive Virginians Arrested for Alleged Involvement in Wednesday D.C. Unrest
Five Virginians were arrested Wednesday for involvement in unrest at the nation’s capital on Wednesday. A U.S. Capitol Police (USCP) press release states that Cindy Fitchett and Douglas Sweet, both from Virginia’s Middle Peninsula, were arrested for alleged unlawful entry. According to a list from the department, Washington D.C. Metropolitan Police (MPD) arrested three other Virginians, including Daniel Clavijo for an alleged curfew violation and Julian Snell and Timothy Wolfe for allegedly carrying a pistol without a license. The USCP have jurisdiction over Capitol grounds, while the MPD has jurisdiction over the rest of the city.
Read the full storyHenrico Public Schools Delay Return to In-Person Learning Because of COVID
Henrico County Public Schools (HCPS) announced on Tuesday that the division is delaying the return to in-person learning for pre-kindergarten and elementary school students until the end of January because of the area’s current COVID-19 numbers.
HCPS Superintendent Amy Cashwell made the announcement and discussed the subsequent changes to the timeline for returning to the classroom in an online message to families.
Read the full storyMichiganders Ages 65 and Older, Frontline Workers, and Educators Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccine Starting Monday
Michigan officials announced Wednesday the state will start to vaccinate a broader group of people starting Monday.
That includes Michiganders age 65 and older, frontline workers including police officers, first responders, jail and prison staff, and PreK-12 teachers and childcare providers.
Read the full storyGeorgia House Speaker Announces New Special Election Integrity Committee; Fellow Legislator Questions Motives
Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge) will select a committee to address election integrity, but a fellow legislator questioned his motives.
During a press conference on Thursday, Ralston revealed that the General Assembly would address election law reforms as early as next week. He noted that he would appoint a special committee to undertake election integrity reforms and investigations to ensure confidence in future elections.
Read the full storyTennessee Democrats Join Colleagues in Calling for 25th Amendment Removal of President Trump
After remaining silent while cities were looted and burned by Black Lives Matter and Antifa last summer, Tennessee’s Democrat Congressmen are suddenly disgusted by “riots,” formerly known as “peaceful protests,” and they are calling for President Donald J. Trump’s removal via the 25th Amendment.
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