Month: January 2021

California Rep. Jimmy Gomez Introduces Resolution to Expel Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress

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California Democratic Rep. Jimmy Gomez said that he would introduce a resolution to expel Republican Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from Congress after recent reports alleging that she previously supported executing notable Democrats and FBI agents.

“Such advocacy for extremism and sedition not only demands her immediate expulsion from Congress, but it also merits strong and clear condemnation from all of her Republican colleagues, including House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell,” Gomez said in a statement on Wednesday evening.

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New Jobless Claims Decrease to 847,000, Economists Expected 875,000

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The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims decreased to 847,000 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 in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Jan. 16, in which there were 900,000 new jobless claims reported. Roughly 18.3 million Americans continue to collect unemployment benefits, according to the BLS report Thursday.

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Tiffany Ashton Releases New Music

Bethany Bowman

The last person I interviewed face-to-face before the COVID shutdown was Tiffany Ashton on February 29, 2020. Her plans that day were to finish college at UNC-Charlotte in May then permanently move to Nashville.

Two weeks later, we were in lockdown as a nation and nobody went anywhere. Not only that, Ashton was one of the first people I knew who got the coronavirus and it put her out of commission for a month.

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Voter Survey: Rep. Liz Cheney’s Support Plummeting After Trump Impeachment Vote

Peter D'Abrosca

A survey of Wyoming voters by a national consulting group shows Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) hemorrhaging support after voting to impeach former president Donald J. Trump.

“Liz Cheney’s decision to vote to impeach President Trump makes her extremely vulnerable according to a Wyoming poll conducted among 500 likely general election voters,” a memo from McLaughlin & Associates said. “It is evident her ratings are in bad shape among general election voters and have collapsed among Republicans and Trump voters. The strong voter sentiment in this survey suggests there could be similar results for other Republicans who voted for impeachment.”

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Commentary: Biden Signals Pivot Back to China with Controversial National Security Council Pick

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President Joe Biden is signaling a pivot back to China with his most recent choice to sit on the National Security Council, former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell.

Campbell wrote the book, “The Pivot: The Future of American Statecraft in Asia,” where he argued, “While the Asian Century detoured to the Middle East in the years following the September 11 attacks… the United States has led a ‘Pivot’ (or ‘rebalancing,’ as many prefer) of American diplomacy toward the nuanced yet demanding tasks of engaging a rising Asia. The Pivot is premised on the idea that the Asia-Pacific region not only increasingly defines global power and commerce, but also welcomes U.S. leadership and rewards U.S. engagement with positive returns on political, economic, and military investments.”

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TBI Investigates Police-Involved Shooting in Nashville of Suspect Who Allegedly Rammed Several Patrol Vehicles

Jason M. Reynolds

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation is looking into an officer-involved shooting Wednesday of a suspect who allegedly rammed several police cars in north Nashville.

The TBI on Wednesday tweeted, “HAPPENING NOW: TBI Agents are investigating a reported officer-involved shooting in Nashville, at a location in the 2200 block of Brick Church Pike.”

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Economy Shrank More in 2020 Than Any Year Since the End of WWII Despite Fourth Quarter Growth

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The U.S. economy contracted 3.5% in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, marking the nation’s worst economic performance since the end of World War II.

The U.S. gross domestic product (GDP), which measures net services and goods produced by a country, fell 3.5% in 2020 compared to the 2.2% increase in 2019, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) report released Thursday. The overall decline came despite 4% growth in the fourth quarter, the period from October to December, and 38.3% growth in the third quarter, the period from July to September.

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Virginia Democrats Introduce Bill to Select Presidential Electors by Popular Vote

Peter D'Abrosca

Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates have introduced a bill that would allow presidential electors to be chosen based on the national popular vote, as part of a broader push among left-leaning activists to end states’ rights to choose their own electors. 

“Every American citizen is created equal,” Del. Mark Levine (D-Arlington), who introduced HB 1933 told The Virginia Star. “We should all have an equal right to elect the President of the United States.”

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Georgia Attorney General’s Office Recommended Compromise Settlement Agreement with Stacey Abrams

Chris Butler

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said he entered into the controversial Compromise Settlement Agreement and Release with Stacey Abrams because members of the Georgia Attorney General’s Office Chris Carr recommended he do so. In a letter dated January 6, Raffensperger told former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R-GA) that the agreement strengthened Georgia’s signature verification system.

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Georgians Demand Answers from Department of Labor on Missed Payments

Peter D'Abrosca

Georgians are circulating petitions demanding that the state government, particularly the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) begins responding to their requests for information. 

“This petition was started and organized by residents all throughout the State of Georgia that have filed claims with the Georgia Department of Labor,” says a Change.org petition started by Felicia Primus. “Many of Georgia Residents [sic] haven’t received any updates on claims or they’re missing payments from the Department of Labor. GDOL has not provided better Self-service [sic] options for its website or phone support to help with the increasing demand of unemployment claims, during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

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Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors Blasts Virginia Vaccine Rollout

Eric Burk

The Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors (BOS) sent a scathing letter on Tuesday to Governor Ralph Northam criticizing the slow COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Virginia.

“Simply put, Virginia’s campaign to vaccinate the masses is totally defective. On this issue, we have run out of patience and tolerance. Our citizens deserve better,” the five supervisors wrote. “Virginia has far too many doses still not administered, and that’s not the fault of the federal government.”

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Medical Center Suspended Six Months from Administering Vaccines After Vaccinating Teachers Without State Permission

Corinne Murdock

The Medical Center of Elberton has been barred temporarily from administering COVID-19 vaccines after mistakenly vaccinating teachers and other school staff without state permission. The medical center reportedly vaccinated around 40 percent of the Elbert County School District employees.

For that, the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH) suspended the medical center from receiving vaccine supplies for 6 months.

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Richmond, VCU to Co-Host 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Because of COVID-19

Jacob Taylor

The 2021 Atlantic 10 Conference men’s basketball tournament is coming to the city of Richmond this year.

Normally viewed as crosstown rivals, the University of Richmond and Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) will serve as co-hosts for the annual championship tournament in order to accommodate for safety precautions in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, the conference announced in a news release on Thursday.

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Northam Extends Virginia’s COVID-19 Restrictions

The Center Square

Virginia’s public gathering limits, daily curfews, face mask requirements and other COVID-19 restrictions will stay in place until the end of February, drawing concern from some members of the business community.

Gov. Ralph Northam announced Wednesday he issued Executive Order 72, which extends and slightly modifies the state restrictions. Under the new restrictions, face masks will be required in not only indoor settings but also in any outdoor setting when a person cannot remain 6 feet away from other people.

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AG Herring Asks Virginia Supreme Court to Reject Appeal in Lee Statue Removal Case

Jacob Taylor

State Attorney General Mark Herring filed papers with the Virginia Supreme Court on Wednesday formally asking the body to reject an appeal that seeks to keep the controversial Robert E. Lee statue in Richmond from being removed.

The appeal was filed with the high court Monday on behalf of the plaintiffs, a group of Richmond residents living near the monument who have been challenging Governor Ralph Northam’s authority to remove the statute in court since summer.

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New Ohio Senate Bill Would Provide Oversight of Governor and ODH During Public Health Emergencies

Jack Windsor

State Senators Terry Johnson (R-District 14) and Rob McColley (R-District 1) introduced Senate Bill 22 Tuesday, a proposed law aimed at providing oversight to the emergency declarations made by the governor, as well as the governor’s and health orders that flow from the state of emergency.

SB22 gives the legislature the authority, by passing a joint resolution, to immediately rescind a public health state of emergency declaration, as well as related rules and orders.

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Minneapolis City Council Member Wants Facial Recognition Banned, Says It ‘Exacerbates Bias’

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Minneapolis City Council member Steve Fletcher wrote an amendment to the city’s code of ordinances that would ban facial recognition technology in the police department and all city departments.

The basis for the ban is that facial recognition technology “has been shown to be less accurate in identifying people of color and women,” according to the amendment.

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Mayor Cooper Claims Metro Schools May Open Up ‘Very Soon’

Corinne Murdock

Mayor John Cooper claimed on Thursday that Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) may open up in the near future. He cited the downturn in local COVID-19 case metrics as the main indicator of this prediction, though he didn’t offer any specific timelines.

“[O]ur COVID metrics continue to improve,” stated Cooper. “We’re working with public health and MNPS to evaluate the timely and responsible return of an in-person learning option on a daily basis. Current case trends will allow MNPS to have an in-person option very soon.”

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Tennessee Legislator Proposes Bill Preventing Businesses from Denying Service to Maskless or Unvaccinated Customers

Corinne Murdock

State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) filed a bill for introduction that would amend certain aspects of the Tennessee Code relative to discrimination. Senate Bill 320 would expand the Code’s provisions to prevent businesses from denying services to individuals who don’t wear or use a certain medical device, or if they haven’t received a certain medical treatment. It would also prevent local government entities from enforcing individual compliance with those medical devices or treatments.

Medical devices covered by the bill are instruments; apparatuses; implements; machines; appliances; implants; reagents for in vitro use; softwares; and materials such as face masks, shields, or cloth coverings. Medical treatments are procedures or medications such as immunizations. 

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Newt Gingrich Commentary: President Biden’s Flimsy Coalition and the Left’s Piñata Party

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There seems to be a continued, deep split between the message of unity the President Joe Biden administration would like us to hear – and what its actions are communicating.

Again, President Biden’s inaugural address was great. It hit the right themes of bringing people together as Americans. But but he promptly walked up to the White House and created dissonance with his first volley of clearly partisan left-wing executive orders.

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EPA Approves Tennessee’s Use of Technology That Kills Over 98 Percent of Airborne COVID-19 Particles

Corinne Murdock

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will allow Tennessee to use technology that reportedly kills over 98 percent of airborne COVID-19 particles. The emergency exemption request was approved under Section 18 of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA).

The antiviral air treatment, Grignard Pure, is composed of Triethylene Glycol (TEG) vapor and nanoparticles that permeate and kill the COVID-19 virus particles by disrupting the protein and membrane structures. The EPA confirmed prior independent lab reports that the treatment kills over 98 percent of COVID-19 particles.

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Commentary: The Dark Side of Global ‘Gender Equality’

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Dr. Anthony Fauci just announced the Biden administration’s commitment to “advance gender equality at home and around the world.” This is underscored by President Joe Biden’s executive order allowing biological males to compete in girls and women’s sports and removing justification for female spaces in schools.

We are watching the deliberate deconstruction of biological distinctions before our eyes. But there is much more at stake here than women’s privacy or women’s sports, though those concerns remain vital.

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Biden’s Asia Policy Czar Was an Executive of Group with Chinese Communist Party Ties: Report

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President Joe Biden’s Asia policy czar pick was a top executive at a non-profit foundation that had direct ties to the Chinese Communist Party, The Washington Free Beacon fist reported Wednesday.

President Joe Biden’s choice to head Asia policy Kurt Campbell served on the board of the U.S.-China Strong Foundation as vice chairman until August 2020, The Washington Free Beacon reported. The group is funded by Chinese-American philanthropist Florence Fang, a leader of the National Association for China’s Peaceful Unification (NACPU), which is controlled by China’s international propaganda agency the United Front Work Department (UFWD).

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Federal Judge in Texas Blocks Biden’s Deportation Moratorium

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A federal judge in Texas has sided with the state’s Attorney General against the Biden Administration, temporarily halting Biden’s planned pause on deporting illegal aliens, as reported by The Daily Wire.

Biden originally announced the 100-day halt on all deportations shortly after taking office, directing his Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to focus its resources elsewhere. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton subsequently sued the administration, pointing out that such a moratorium would force the state of Texas to face “irreparable education and healthcare costs,” and also violated a prior agreement between the state government and the DHS, where the DHS was obligated to inform the state of any significant changes in its immigration policy beforehand.

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Google Suspends Ads for Bipartisan Supreme Court Advocacy Group

Peter D'Abrosca

A bipartisan group that advocates for an independent Supreme Court is crying foul after Google allegedly refused to place their online advertisements. 

“Keep Nine, a bipartisan organization that advocates for an independent Supreme Court,has had its Google ads suspended in an arbitrary move by the website,” ValueWalk reported. “According to Google, the ad was disapproved because of a ‘Sensitive Event’ surrounding the election, that event being Joe Biden’s inauguration as president Wednesday.”

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U.S. Senate Escapes Gridlock After Two Democrats Promise to Protect Filibuster

The Center Square

After receiving commitments from two Democratic colleagues that they wouldn’t abolish the filibuster, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’ll hand over the chamber’s legislative gavels to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. 

The U.S. Senate is actually split 50-50 between Republicans and Democrats, but Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris holds the tie-breaking vote.

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Tennessee’s Estimated Infrastructure Costs Balloon to $58 Billion

Corinne Murdock

The state’s necessary costs for infrastructure have ballooned to $58 billion for projects from 2019 to 2024. The Tennessee Advisory Commission on Intergovernmental Relations (TACIR) issued the annual report on Monday. TACIR noted that the $3.8 billion difference from last year’s report marked a nearly 7 percent increase.

According to TACIR, the bulk of the increase – nearly $3 billion – came from transportation and utility needs, mainly for new road and sidewalk projects. Needs of the “general government” accounted for a majority of the remainder at $608 million.

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Biden State Department Sounds off on Chinese Technology Abuses, but Refuses to Say if it Will Continue Trump’s Fight Against Chinese Telecoms

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The State Department refused to say whether President Joe Biden will continue a bipartisan Trump administration initiative that commits American allies to keep Chinese telecoms out of their networks.

Some 60 countries, including 27 of the 30 NATO countries, as well as Japan, Israel, Australia, Singapore, Taiwan, Vietnam and India, had signed onto the Clean Network program by the time former President Donald Trump left office. Participants of the program have agreed to prohibit high-risk Chinese vendors such as Huawei from being a part of their 5G mobile infrastructure.

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Biden’s Energy Nominee Divvied Millions in Taxpayer Funds to Alternative Energy Startups That Went Bankrupt

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President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Department of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, divvied out millions in taxpayer funds during her two terms as Michigan governor to alternative energy companies that eventually went bankrupt.

In one instance, Granholm’s administration provided a $9.1 million refundable tax credit to a renewable energy company registered to the address of a single-wide trailer and run by a convicted embezzler named Richard Short. Short was found to be in violation of his parole and sent back to prison after appearing on stage with Granholm in 2010 to accept assistance from the Michigan Economic Growth Authority, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential.

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Running Out of Options, Virginia GOP State Central Committee Might Choose 2021 Party Nominees

Eric Burk

  The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) is headed towards the State Central Committee (SCC) selecting the GOP 2021 nominees for governor, lieutenant governor, and attorney general. A majority of the party has voted repeatedly for an in-person convention, which is illegal under current COVID-19 executive orders. A minority of the party hoping for a primary has blocked attempts to pass an amendment to party rules allowing an unassembled convention. “That’s the danger of this game of chicken that’s being played, and it’s what concerns me,” RPV Chair Rich Anderson said on The John Fredericks Show on Wednesday. “It appears that those votes are not going to be there [to approve the amendment].” Without those votes, the party could be stuck with 72 SCC members choosing the 2021 nominees even though 1.96 million Virginians voted Republican in the 2020 presidential election. Anderson said, “Right now on this day, standing in front of my telephone with you, I don’t see a pathway forward.” In a Monday letter to the SCC, Anderson said the next SCC meeting would occur on February 27, after the deadline to opt for a state-run primary has passed, effectively ending discussion of a primary. The SCC could…

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Bill to Recognize Some Out-of-State Cccupational Therapist Licenses Asses Virginia Senate

The Center Square

Legislation that would allow the state to recognize additional out-of-state occupational therapist licenses unanimously passed the Virginia Senate on Tuesday.

Senate Bill 1189, sponsored by Sen. Ghazala Hashmi, D-Richmond, would enter Virginia into the Occupational Therapy Interjurisdictional Licensure Compact. All states in the compact would recognize licenses granted by other states in the compact after 10 states enter the agreement. The bill has a delayed effective date of Jan. 1, 2022.

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Ohio Moves to 11 p.m. Curfew for Two Weeks

Jack Windsor

Ohio’s statewide curfew will be extended after COVID-related hospitalizations dipped below 3,500 for the seventh consecutive day on Wednesday.

On Tuesday, Ohio Governor Michael DeWine (R) announced that the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) recommended altering the statewide curfew to 11:00 p.m. – 5:00 a.m. when COVID-related hospitalizations fall below 3,500 for seven consecutive days. Tuesday was the sixth consecutive day, Wednesday the seventh.

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