Day: February 19, 2021

Tennessee Firearms Association: 2nd Amendment Sanctuary Act Needs More Teeth

Corinne Murdock

The recently-introduced Second Amendment Sanctuary Act isn’t all that novel, and may need different enforcement mechanisms if it’s to succeed. This, according to Tennessee Firearms Association Executive Director John Harris. In interviews with The Tennessee Star, Harris and State Representative Scotty Campbell (R-Mountain City) discussed the merits and shortcomings of Campbell’s latest gun rights bill.

Harris predicted that this legislation would fail to fix the original problem presented in a nearly-identical bill signed into law in 2015. He added that another similar bill, the Firearms Freedom Act – made law in 2009 in response to President Barack Obama taking office – affords a similar defense against federal government actions, though he noted that enforcement of those two laws hasn’t occurred.

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New Jobless Claims Increase to 861,000, Economists Expected 773,000

Admin

The number of Americans filing new unemployment claims increased to 861,000 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 figure released Thursday represented an increase in the number of new jobless claims compared to the week ending Feb. 6, in which there were 848,000 new jobless claims reported. That number was revised up from the 793,000 jobless claims initially reported last week.

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After State of Emergency in Tennesee, National Weather Service Still Forecasts Caution, but Changes Coming

Chris Butler

All of that snow and ice is about to thaw or melt, and Middle Tennessee residents may once again travel to the grocery store or other places of interest and not risk having an accident. National Weather Service meteorologist John Cohen updated The Tennessee Star on Thursday about the latest weather conditions and when Middle Tennessee residents will finally get a break.

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Twenty Days of Infamy: The January 2017 Red Flags the FBI Blew Past on Russia Collusion

Admin

From its earliest moments, the FBI’s Russia collusion probe was always fraught with warning signs.

Agents were told Christopher Steele provided faulty information, had likely been compromised by Russian intel disinformation, wanted to defeat Donald Trump, had leaked to the media and was being paid by Hillary Clinton, who herself might be carrying out an epic dirty political trick to vilify Trump with false information to distract from her own scandals.

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U.S. Life Expectancy Suffers Greatest Drop Since World War II, CDC Says

Admin

Life expectancy in the United States dropped a full year during the beginning half of 2020 due to the first wave of the coronavirus pandemic, health officials announced.

The drops were greatest among people of color, according to preliminary estimates from the CDC. The life expectancy for black Americans and Hispanic Americans dropped almost three and two years, respectively while the expectancy for white Americans fell 0.8 years.

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Music Spotlight: Chris Pierce

Bethany Bowman

Chris Pierce is one of the most accomplished artists I have interviewed. He has opened for legends, like BB King, Al Green, Seal, Aaron Neville, and Colbie Callait. He has a big imprint in the sync world with his music being featured on shows like Brothers and Sisters, In Plain Sight, Eli Stone, What About Brian, and Army Wives to name a few. Most recently, the songwriter gained national attention with “We Can Always Come Back To This”, a song he co-wrote for the #1 NBC primetime series This is Us, peaked at #1 on the Billboard Blues Chart.

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Walmart to Raise Wages for 425,000 Workers After Massive 2020 Sales Performance

Admin

Walmart announced it will raise wages for 425,000 store associates serving in “frontline” roles after the company reported record fourth-quarter revenue.

Walmart will increase starting wages to between $13 and $19 per hour depending on store location and market, according to a letter Walmart President and CEO John Furner sent to employees nationwide Thursday morning. The pay raises will begin on March 13 and apply to the company’s 425,000 store associates.

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Report: Gov. Cuomo Threatening to ‘Destroy’ NY Dem. Lawmakers If They Refuse to Publicly Support His Covid-19 Record

Admin

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo reportedly threatened to ‘destroy’ a local lawmaker’s career unless he issued a statement “covering up” what a top aide to the governor said last week in a stunning and news-making conference call with Democrat lawmakers. Three additional Democratic lawmakers also say they were threatened by the Cuomo administration, according to CNN.

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REPORT: 270-Hour Observation of Fulton County Elections Revealed Extensive Chain of Custody, Absentee Ballot Processing Issues

Corinne Murdock

A Fulton County elections report revealed extensive problems occurred with chain of custody and absentee ballot processing during the general election. The State Election Board contracted Seven Hills Strategies (SHS) to monitor Fulton County from its pre-electoral processes through the recent runoffs. An SHS monitor synthesized 270 hours of observation into a 14-page report, published last month. The monitor was careful to emphasize that they didn’t witness any fraudulent activity such as ballot stuff or double-counting.

In addition to multiple reports of absentee ballots sent to incorrect addresses, the monitor reported that the absentee ballot processing was “extremely sloppy” and rife with chain of custody issues. The monitor cited one example of the headquarter building functioning as both the additional voter verification area and a holding room for ballots between the mail room and another processing room. The monitor stated that it witnessed staff members attempting to move unverified absentee ballots into a stack headed for State Farm Arena to be scanned and counted.

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Virginia Man Sentenced to Three Years for Driving Through BLM Protest

Peter D'Abrosca

A Virginia man was sentenced to three years in prison Thursday after pleading guilty to charges stemming from driving through a crowd of Black Lives Matter protestors last year. 

Emmanuel “Manny” Wilder pleaded guilty to failure to appear, reckless driving, disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace, according to WAVY. Wilder did not hit anyone during the incident. 

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Georgia Bill Would Honor Certain Out-of-State Professional and Occupational Licenses

Chris Butler

A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would, if enacted into law, help individuals who relocated from out-of-state obtain a license to practice certain professions and occupations. State officials could grant expedited licenses to those people — other than dentists, physicians, and osteopaths. This, according to a bill that 12 Georgia legislators filed late last month.

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A More Restrained Bicycling Safety Act Passes the Virginia Senate

Eric Burk

Delegate Chris Hurst’s (D-Montgomery) Bicycling Safety Act passed the Senate on Wednesday. The Senate version of the bill focuses on increasing passing safety. It requires drivers to move over a lane if there isn’t room to pass bicyclists by three feet, and it also allows two bicyclists to ride side-by side in a lane. It also creates a study of the potential effects of a ‘Safety Stop,’ a traffic law that would allow bicyclists to treat stop signs as yields under certain conditions.

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Bill to Legalize Marijuana Passes Minnesota House Subcommittee

Peter D'Abrosca

After an hour and a half hearing Thursday, a bill that would legalize the use of recreational marijuana passed a Minnesota House Commerce Finance and Policy subcommittee. 

“There being 10 ayes and seven nays, House File 600 is recommended to be referred to the Committee on Labor, Industry, Veterans and Military Affairs Finance and Policy,” chairman of the subcommittee state Rep. Zach Stephenson (DFL-MN-36A) said after the roll call at the end of the online hearing. 

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New Georgia Legislation Would Let Churches and Businesses Stay Open During Health Emergency

Chris Butler

Georgia State Sen. Jason Anavitarte (R – Dallas) this week introduced legislation that he said supports a church and a business owner’s rights to keep their establishments open during a pandemic like COVID-19 or other health emergency. This, only if the business can abide by all of the mandated safety precautions that local and state governments issue, Anavitarte said.

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Tennessee Valley Authority’s Use of Diverse Power Generation Sources Credited With Keeping Electricity Flowing in Tennessee During Winter Storms

Jason M. Reynolds

Unlike Texas, Tennessee has been blessed to largely keep the electricity on during the winter storms, with Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) crediting its diverse generation assets.

Although thousands of homes throughout the Tennessee Valley have lost power at different times thanks to issues like trees falling on transmission lines, electric generation in the Volunteer State has held up despite the high demands from below-freezing temperatures.

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