Friday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Memphis Tennessee State Represenative Mark White to the newsmakers line to discuss his background and how Tennessee will respond to the transgender sports executive order.
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The behavior of East Tennessee State University (ETSU) basketball has caught the ire of their congresswoman. Freshman Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) criticized the basketball team on Thursday after the team’s practice of kneeling in protest to the national anthem was made known.
ETSU Head Coach Jason Shay supported his team’s decision, stating that the country’s soldiers and people of color have experienced similar levels of “sacrifice, fear, pain, anxiety, [and] loss.”
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The crash in U.S. oil production is growing worse as freezing temperatures and power outages in Texas prevent pumping the fossil fuels from the ground.
Bloomberg reported that oil production has plunged by close to 40% — the most ever, according to traders and industry executives with direct knowledge of the operations.
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Last Labor Day, candidate Joe Biden made an impassioned pitch to leaders and members of the AFL-CIO, America’s largest labor federation. Stressing that “the great American middle class was built by unions,” he jabbed his finger in the air for emphasis as he promised, “I’m going to be the strongest labor president you have ever had,” drawing a smile from his longtime ally and friend, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka.
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Recent studies indicate that the Pfizer and Moderna coronavirus vaccines may have reduced protection against the South African coronavirus strain, according to reports in the New England Journal of Medicine, raising concerns that they could be less effective against future mutations.
Though both vaccines appeared to generate enough antibodies to neutralize the mutant strain, they both produced fewer antibodies when compared to the original virus. But experts warned that it was unclear just how much protection was needed to neutralize the variant, which scientists believe is more contagious than the original strain.
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The Biden Department of Defense will be keeping National Guard Troops in Washington, D.C. until at least mid-March in part because of a little known QAnon conspiracy theory that could spur another storming of the Capitol, a House Democrat suggested on Wednesday.
“Some of these people have figured out that apparently 75 years ago, the president used to be inaugurated on March 4. OK, now why that’s relevant, God knows, at any rate, now they are thinking maybe we should gather again and storm the Capitol on March 4. … That is circulating online,” House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said during a committee hearing.
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Tennessee remained at a Level Three State of Emergency Friday night as people in certain counties had no power during extreme winter temperatures, and officials reported more weather-related fatalities. In an emailed press release Friday, officials with the Tennessee Department of Health confirmed two weather-related deaths in Shelby County. TDH officials had previously reported two other fatalities in the county as well one fatality each in Maury, Williamson, Dickson, and Overton counties, bringing the total number of fatalities this week to eight.
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An all new LIVE STREAM of War Room: Pandemic starts at 9 a.m. Central Time on Saturday.
Former White House Chief Strategist Stephen K. Bannon began the daily War Room: Pandemic radio show and podcast on January 25, when news of the virus was just beginning to leak out of China around the Lunar New Year. Bannon and co-hosts bring listeners exclusive analysis and breaking updates from top medical, public health, economic, national security, supply chain and geopolitical experts weekdays from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon ET.
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California Democrats are standing with Gov. Gavin Newsom as Republican unity around the effort to remove him from office is splintering over how to limit the GOP candidate field and thus pose the strongest recall challenge.
But proponents of the recall, considered a long shot most of last year, over the weekend celebrated a milestone: They reached the 1.5 million signatures needed by mid-March to qualify for a special election to remove the first-term governor. Yet with Democratic election officials expected to invalidate roughly 20% of all signatures gathered, recall organizers will continue working toward a goal of 1.8 to 2 million signatures by the deadline to allow for a buffer, a threshold they’re confident of reaching.
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Lincoln Project co-founder Rick Wilson paid off the massive mortgage on his Florida home only days after the New York Times reported on sexual misconduct allegations against co-founder John Weaver, public records show.
Wilson’s $200,000, 30-year-mortgage originated in 2007 and JPMorgan Chase Bank recently issued a certificate of satisfaction on the mortgage, the Washington Free Beacon reported.
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Georgia legislators have filed a bill that would require that government officials mail absentee ballot applications only to registered voters. The Georgia General Assembly’s website identified State Sen. Max Burns (R-Sylvania) as the bill’s primary sponsor.
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Ohio’s Republican Secretary of State is catching heat from liberal groups, despite allowing the state to proceed with absentee voting via drop boxes.
“Even though Ohio law does not explicitly provide for the use of secure receptacles, commonly known as ‘drop boxes,’ for an absentee voter to return their ballot to the director, this Directive, once again, provides for the continued use of secure receptacles outside of the boards of elections,” Frank LaRose (R) said in a February 12 directive.
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A Macomb County restaurant group has filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other state entities.
In the lawsuit filed Feb. 8 in Macomb County Circuit Court, the Macomb County Restaurant, Bar, and Banquet Association (MCRBBA) alleges top state officials violated the state Constitution’s Taking Clause by closing businesses for the past 11 months with just compensation and are seeking damages.
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This week, Georgia rolled out a COVID-19 vaccination registration website, as the state gears up to begin vaccinating more residents.
“COVID-19 vaccines continue to arrive in Georgia in extremely limited supply,” the site’s homepage says. “As we await additional vaccine supply from the Federal Government, we urge currently eligible Georgia residents to pre-register today.”
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On Wednesday, Gov. Tim Walz updated Minnesota’s Safe Learning Plan to allow more middle school and high school students to return to the classroom for hybrid or in-person learning as early as Monday.
Walz expects all schools to offer their students some form of in-person learning by March 8, but said he won’t force them to comply.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova) introduced a bill Wednesday that would both expunge the records of businesses cited for COVID violations and return fines and penalties paid. Upon its introduction, House Bill 127 was assigned to the House State and Local Government Committee on Thursday. HB127 does not contain an emergency provision, which means if it is passed in both the House and Senate and were approved by Ohio Governor Mike DeWine – or if it passes both chambers and is vetoed by DeWine but then overridden with supermajority votes in the General Assembly – the bill would go into effect 90 days later. The meat of the measure is twofold: expunges the records of all businesses whose files reflect violations of codes, orders or rules enacted by state agencies or local boards of health related to the State of Ohio COVID response; returns to businesses penalties and fines paid for violations. The expungements and refunds reach back to March 14, 2020 and will extend forward. “Our businesses have suffered enough. Punitive fines accomplish nothing at this time. Orders are ambiguous and constantly changing – it’s unfair to hold businesses to these orders,” Merrin said during…
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Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) SB 1303 requiring schools to provide both in-person and virtual learning options is still moving through the House of Delegates, but slowly. Dunnavant’s bill earned bipartisan support in the Senate, thanks in part to support from Senators Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax) and Joe Morrissey (D-Richmond.) But a House Education subcommittee initially introduced several amendments to the bill that would effectively leave the status quo intact, prompting opposition from House Republicans
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Residents of Minneapolis received a small reprieve from stringent COVID-19 restrictions Friday, but plenty of rules still remain in place.
“The city of Minneapolis has lifted its ban on bar counter seating just in time for the weekend,” Minnesota Public Radio News (MPR) reported. “Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said the decision was based on public health data, showing a decrease in COVID-19 cases in the city.”
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Two attempts to force the Virginia GOP to reconsider its decision to hold a convention failed this week, the latest scene in the ongoing drama among the party’s leadership.
The Republican Party of Virginia (RPV) State Central Committee (SCC) has voted to hold a nominating convention. Because the SCC can’t muster the three-fourths approval needed to declare an unassembled convention, it is stuck with a default in-person convention. The SCC has spent months rehashing the decision in formal Zoom meetings and private discussions.
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Legislators are proposing that law enforcement and judges shouldn’t have to live in fear or face retaliation for their chosen profession. The bill would add those two groups as protected classes against civil rights intimidation, along with race, color, ancestry, religion, and national origin.
Under the legislation, offenders would earn a Class D felony for injuring, threatening to injure, or coercing another person with the intent to unlawfully intimidate based on the belief or knowledge that the victim is a law enforcement member or judge. That level of punishment would also be applicable if someone were to damage, destroy, or deface another’s property based on that belief or knowledge. Class D felonies are two to twelve years’ prison time, and up to $5,000 in fines.
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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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Rush Limbaugh. Gone. Seemingly as permanent a feature on our media landscape as the face of Abraham Lincoln was on Mount Rushmore. The dean of conservative radio talk show hosts. Magnetic North Pole for tens of millions of Americans each week. The center of the universe for 15 million each day.
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Sherry Hage and Richard Page of the Noble Education Initiative to discuss their new charter school, Nashville Collegiate Prep.
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The FBI and a U.S. attorney in New York are investigating Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his administration over their handling of data on coronavirus cases in state nursing home facilities, according to multiple reports.
Prosecutors have issued subpoenas in the investigation, which is in its early stages, two sources familiar with the matter told ABC News.
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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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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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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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These are crazy times. A pandemic led to national quarantine, to self-induced recession, to riot, arson, and looting, to a contested election, and to a riot at the Capitol.
In response, are we focusing solely on upping the daily vaccination rate?
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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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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 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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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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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Dr. Carol M. Swain to weigh in on Nashville’s social justice warrior-filled Community Oversight Board and being censored on LinkedIn.
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Thursday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Carol Swain to the newsmakers line to discuss several of President Trump’s refugee resettlement executive order and suggests how Tennessee should respond.
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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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The Buckeye Institute recently released a report advocating for the implementation of Education Savings Accounts for Ohio’s students, something it says could help school districts and educators put students first.
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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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U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer exposed the “dirty truth” about school closures at a Friday event hosted by the Center of the American Experiment.
Emmer represents Minnesota’s Sixth Congressional District and chairs the National Republican Congressional Committee. He believes education will remain a hot topic in the 2022 midterms.
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The House of Delegates has approved SB 1276, a bill that allows abortions to be included in coverage from private insurance companies listed on the commonwealth’s healthcare exchange. On Thursday, the Senate passed a companion bill, HB 1896, 22 to 17.
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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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Jane Timken, former chairwoman of the Ohio Republican Party (ORP), announced Thursday she will seek the 2022 Republican nomination for the U.S. Senate seat that is currently occupied by Republican Rob Portman who announced last month he will retire from federal politics at the end of his current term.
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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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Michigan internet gaming and sports betting operators reported $42.7 million in gross receipts for the 10 days after its initial launch.
Michigan’s online sportsbooks generated $115.2 million in wagers in the 10 days in January, according to the Michigan Gaming Control Board (MGCB).
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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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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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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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After months of waiting, the fate of the Nathan Bedford Forrest bust in the Tennessee State Capitol won’t be decided this week after all. The Tennessee Historical Commission (THC) decided to delay the final hearing over the Confederate bust, as well as those of U.S. Navy Admirals David Glasglow Farragut and Albert Gleaves, on Wednesday due to the poor travel conditions.
THC Historic Preservation Specialist Susan McClamroch informed The Tennessee Star that they wanted to ensure no problems posed by virtual hearings would occur during the proceeding.
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One of President Donald J. Trump’s longest-serving political advisors told the Star News Network the Feb. 14 latest attack piece in The New York Times is part of a mainstream media attempt to tie him to the Jan. 6 chaos in the Capitol. “Just because the New York Times says something, why does it mean it’s true? They lied about many things during my trial,” said legendary conservative operative Roger Stone. The Times article, “First They Guarded Roger Stone. Then They Joined the Capitol Attack,” cites its own review of Capitol security footage to assert that six men providing Stone with personal security were associated with Oath Keepers, a fraternity of men and women with service in law enforcement and or military. Stone said the connection to the Oath Keepers is more misdirection. “I can’t find evidence that any of them have been charged,” he said. “CNN brought up the case of a man named Manuta, they showed his picture because he could be seen out in front of the hotel in close proximity to me, and I’d never heard of him before that. According to the CNN, he may have been inside the Capitol. He also may not.…
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The public health community has long since concluded that the perils of prolonged school closures are far greater than the risks posed by COVID-19 to students and teachers. This fact has not been lost on parents, who are growing increasingly impatient with teachers who won’t return to the classroom. This frustration will increase exponentially now that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has issued new guidance on how schools can and should safely reopen: “It is critical for schools to open as safely and as soon as possible, and remain open, to achieve the benefits of in-person learning and key support services.”
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President Joe Biden will meet with labor leaders at the White House Wednesday to discuss infrastructure investment and clean energy jobs, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Sean McGarvey, president of North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU), Richard Trumka, president of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO), and other union heads are expected to meet with President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, according to The Wall Street Journal. The White House said the meeting will focus on infrastructure and Biden’s coronavirus relief bill currently making its way through Congress.
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