Month: February 2021

Gov. Northam Claims ‘Revenue Picture Remains Stable’ Despite Double-Digit Drops in Virginia Tax Collections

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Despite a double-digit percentage drop in payroll taxes in January and a dip in overall General Fund collections, Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said the state’s revenue remains stable.

The state’s January 2021 revenue report showed payroll withholding taxes down 12.6% for the month compared with last January, but the state said the decrease was expected because of one less deposit day compared with a year ago. The report said collections of the sales and use taxes, showing December sales, rose 5.6% in January, and the combined December and January receipts rose 5.4% over the same time from a year ago.

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Ohio Senate Unanimously Passes a Ban on Taxing PPP Loans

The Center Square

Ohio businesses that benefitted from federal and state help during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic are a step closer to not being forced to pay taxes on that aid.

The Ohio Senate unanimously passed Senate Bill 18, which complies Ohio tax law with the federal code, streamlines the state’s tax filing process and makes sure money received during the pandemic will not be taxed.

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State of Ohio May Have Paid Fake COVID Claims Well in Excess of $330 Million

Jack Windsor

Scammers took nearly all of the $330 million in reported improper payments the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services made with Pandemic Unemployment Assistance funds, Director Kimberly Henderson said earlier this month.  That amount was funneled, in part, through 56,000 fake claims which were identified in December.  There were also overpayments on legitimate claims.

But there may be more fraud – much more – that is not yet reported.

Whether the $330 million is from misappropriation that happened in December alone, or is a pile of results spanning several months, is unknown. Henderson said total losses will likely be pinpointed at the end of February.

“They should be able to pinpoint the amount weekly, or monthly,” said Ohio State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Monclova). He continued, “we need to get checks and balances in place to ensure money isn’t stolen in the first place.”

One Ohio State Senator told The Ohio Star the Director has signaled to him that the amount of money lost in ODJFS processing is likely in the ballpark of $1B. 

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NLRB Grants Michigan Construction Workers’ Petition to Vote on Union Removal

The Center Square

The National Labor Relations Board in Washington on Friday granted the petition of Michigan construction employees to defend their right to vote union bargaining representatives from the workplace.

The NLRB decision Friday overturns a November ruling by the Detroit NLRB, which dismissed two petitions filed by Rieth-Riley Construction Company employee Rayalan Kent and coworkers in which they requested a decertification vote against the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324.

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Minnesota Legislators Push to Abolish Walz’s Power over Public Schools

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Republican lawmakers want to strip the governor of his ability to “unilaterally” close schools during a peacetime emergency.

Sen. Carla Nelson, R-Rochester, authored a bill that would make Gov. Tim Walz’s peacetime emergency powers invalid in the realm of shutting down in-person school. The governor may “advise and consult” with school boards and leaders, but may not take any action himself, the bill states.

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Bill to Reduce County Health Boards to Advisory Bodies Moves Through Tennessee House and Senate

Corinne Murdock

Certain counties may see the roles of their health boards change in the event of another public health emergency. According to a bill making its way through the Tennessee General Assembly, county mayors should retain the exclusive authority to establish health-related mandates and regulations, while health boards and committees should only serve to advise them. The proposed measures would only apply to counties with certain population counts. Accordingly, the bill would affect Shelby, Knox, Davidson, Hamilton, Sullivan, and Madison counties.

State Representative Jason Zachary (R-Knoxville) introduced the bill in November, as Chris Butler with The Tennessee Star reported previously. In a press release, Zachary explained that only elected representatives are accountable to those they serve – therefore, only elected representatives should have the final say in public health emergencies.

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Belmont University Will Continue ‘Test Optional’ Admissions Criteria

Corinne Murdock

Belmont University announced that it would continue its test-optional admissions policy for the 2021-2022 admissions. Students will no longer be required to submit ACT or SAT scores for either admissions or scholarship eligibility. This, in addition to the continued acceptance of pass/fail grades.

Their admissions team determined that the COVID-19 pandemic presented significant challenges for students applying to the university. The university issued the update earlier this week, shortly after announcing that its new president would be Dr. Gregory L. Jones. Belmont Associate Provost and Dean of Enrollment Service Dr. Chris Gage explained that they’d decided to shift their priority focus onto student qualities and backgrounds rather than traditional testing standards for admissions.

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Commentary: America’s Spy-Busters Put Secret-Stealing Chinese ‘Grad Students’ Under the Microscope

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The FBI last month arrested Gang Chen, a well-known MIT nanotechnologist, and charged the China-born naturalized American with concealing close and lucrative connections to China’s scientific and technological establishment on his applications for federal research grants.

Chen, who has pleaded not guilty and is supported by MIT, is not the only prominent academic figure to be arrested and charged with failing to disclose connections to Chinese research institutes. At least half a dozen have been arrested in the last year or so. They include Charles Lieber, the chair of the Harvard University Chemistry Department, who is accused of concealing his participation in an ambitious, state-sponsored Chinese effort to recruit top scientists and engineers from around the world to work in China.

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Trump Celebrates Senate Acquittal: ‘Make America Great Again Has Only Just Begun’

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President Trump on Saturday celebrated his second impeachment acquittal in the U.S. Senate, slamming it as politically motivated and signaling his intent to continue his political career in the future.

The Senate voted 57-43 on Saturday to acquit Trump, with Senate Democrats failing to convict the former president for inciting the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.

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Joe Biden Ends President Trump’s National Emergency on Southern Border

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Joe Biden has announced that his administration will be ending the declaration of a national emergency on the southern border that was first declared by the Trump Administration, as reported by Fox News.

President Trump first declared the national emergency in February of 2019, which allowed him to allocate billions of federal dollars to the construction of the wall after Congress repeatedly blocked his efforts to do so. The move allowed for nearly 500 miles of new border wall to be constructed by the end of his first term. Biden announced the decision in a letter to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), in which he described the policy as “unwarranted.”

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Nashville’s Financial Health Earns It ‘Sinkhole City’ Designation

The Center Square

Nashville recently was named a “Bottom 5 Sinkhole City” by the nonpartisan think tank Truth in Accounting (TIA) in its fifth annual Financial State of the Cities report.

TIA examined the fiscal health of the 75 most-populous U.S. cities and graded and ranked the cities accordingly. The 2021 report is based on fiscal year 2019 comprehensive annual financial reports.

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FBI Spokesman Says Nationwide Billboards Targeting January 6 Protestors Likely an Agency First

Chris Butler

FBI officials have erected billboards seeking tips on possible suspects who breached the U.S. Capitol January 6 and, according to one agency spokesman, this is likely the first time the FBI has done this nationwide. But Joel Siskovic, speaking for the FBI’s Memphis Field Office, said members of his agency have used billboards before to find suspects — but only in limited regions of the United States.

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Commentary: Valentine’s Day Was Reimagined by Chivalrous Medieval Poets for All to Enjoy, Respectfully

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Valentine’s Day annoys many people.

For many in a relationship, the pressure to impress a partner can weigh heavily, and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of the relentless commercialization of the holiday. Meanwhile those still looking for love approach the day with trepidation – another reminder of their single status and the pressure to find a partner.

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Music Spotlight: Taylor Hughes

Bethany Bowman

NASHVILLE, Tennessee-  Taylor Hughes was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Although she always loved music and did choirs and shows, her mother was an R & B singer was considered the musical one in the family.

Hughes was an athlete with a scholarship to attend college as a volleyball player when she blew her knee out her junior year of high school and the hope of attending college on a sports scholarship was over.

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China Withheld COVID-19 Data from World Health Organization Team Investigating Virus Origins: Report

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Chinese authorities refused to share raw data on 174 early cases of Covid-19 with a World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus pandemic, one of the scientists on the team told The Wall Street Journal.

According to The Journal, government authorities provided summaries of the coronavirus cases to the WHO team, but withheld raw data that could provide clues about how the virus transmitted early on in the pandemi

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Biden White House Deputy Press Secretary Suspended After Threatening to ‘Destroy’ Reporter

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On Inauguration Day, Joe Biden warned his appointees that a hostile workplace would not be tolerated in his administration, but that didn’t seem to make an impression on White House deputy press secretary TJ Ducklo, who reportedly threatened a journalist that very same day using “derogatory and misogynistic” language.

According to Vanity Fair, Ducklo threatened to “destroy” Tara Palmeri while she was working on story about his relationship with another reporter.

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Chicago Teachers Union Suddenly Agrees to Immediate In-Person Classes After Threatening to Strike

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The Chicago Teachers Union approved a deal with city officials that ensures an immediate return to in-person instruction, the union said Wednesday morning.

The teachers union approved the Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) proposed plan to return to in-person classes in a 13,681-to-6,585 vote Wednesday morning, the union announced. In-person instruction was supposed to begin on Feb. 1, but was delayed after the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) voted to defy the city’s plan in January.

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Lincoln Project Leaders Reportedly Padded Pockets from Anti-Trump Donations While Ignoring Allegations Against Cofounder

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The Lincoln Project was reportedly aware of allegations against co-founder John Weaver as early as June 2020, but pushed ahead with raising massive donations — and $50 million of these donations has gone to firms controlled by the Lincoln Project’s leaders.

Lincoln Project members were made aware of at least 10 allegations of harassment against Weaver in June 2020, the Associated Press reported. The group did not take action against Weaver as it continued its high-profile work combatting the re-election of former President Donald Trump and expressed shock in January over the allegations against its cofounder.

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Pro-Choice and Pro-Life Groups Support Two Bills Focused on Fetal, Infant and Maternal Health Data

Eric Burk

Republican and Democratic legislators don’t often find common ground on pro-life issues in Virginia, but two pro-life bills passed the House of Delegates with unanimous support, and are likely to pass out of the Senate. HB 1950, introduced by lieutenant governor candidate Delegate Hala Ayala (D-Prince William) would develop a plan to create a Fetal and Infant Mortality Review Team in Virginia to collect better data about fetal and infant survival rates. HB 2111, introduced by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring (D-Alexandria), is similar, and establishes a task force to collect data to help create policies focused on improving maternal care. Both bills are now in committee in the Senate.

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Michigan County GOP Censures Meijer over Trump Impeachment Vote

Peter D'Abrosca

One county GOP in Michigan has voted to censure freshman Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI-03) after Meijer voted to impeach former president Donald Trump alongside the entire Democrat Party. 

“It is with great sadness and solemnity that we write to issue this formal Letter of Censure and to condemn your recent vote in favor of House Resolution 24 impeaching President Donald J. Trump,” a letter from the Calhoun County Republican Executive Committee said. 

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Lawsuits Filed Against Ohio Cities over Municipal Income Tax Collections During Pandemic

The Center Square

Two Ohioans filed lawsuits this week challenging Ohio tax law that allows cities to tax income of workers who, the lawsuits say, do not live in nor work in the municipalities.

The Buckeye Institute, an independent research and educational group, filed the lawsuits on behalf of Eric Denison and Josh Schaad against the cities of Columbus and Cincinnati. The lawsuits ask the court to declare unconstitutional Ohio law that allows cities to tax workers who do not live in and have not been working in those cities.

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Georgia Legislature Approves $650M Spending Increase in Amended State Budget

The Center Square

The Georgia General Assembly approved a more than $650 million increase in spending for fiscal year 2021 on Thursday after lawmakers in the Senate and House came to agreement on an amended budget.

Lawmakers approved a plan that restores 60% of K-12 school funding and adds spending for public health, state employee raises, broadband internet expansion, higher education and state vehicles. The bill now heads to Gov. Brian Kemp for final approval.

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Cohen Says Trump ‘Worst Person in the World’

Peter D'Abrosca

A Democrat congressman from Tennessee known for his hyperbolic attacks against former President Donald J. Trump does not appear to be slowing down, despite the fact that Trump no longer holds office.

“It was clear to me from jump street that Trump was the worst person in the world and responsible for orchestrating the insurrection,” Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) said on Twitter. “It was a self-produced alternative show to his electoral defeat and he enjoyed watching it. He’s a narcissistic sociopath!”

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Commentary: Biden’s Loose Border Raises Terror Threat Against the U.S.

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Migrants detained by CBP

With Trump-era immigration policies being reversed at a breakneck pace since the Biden Administration assumed power, the American public should understand that will mean more illegal aliens in the country, an uptick in migrant caravans from Central America, and federal support of sanctuary laws, just for starters.

Now comes an even more ominous threat: new anti-borders policies will allow entry to Middle Eastern terrorists committed to mayhem and even 9/11-scale attacks.

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DeSantis Calls Potential Travel Ban on Florida a ‘Ridiculous But Very Damaging Farce,’ a ‘Political Attack’ on the State

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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis slammed the Biden Administration Thursday after White House officials floated to the media that it was considering a travel ban to and from the Sunshine State because of coronavirus concerns.

The Miami Herald reported on Wednesday that the White House was looking at “domestic travel restrictions as COVID mutation surges in Florida.”

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Tennessee Senate Education Committee Recommends Passage of Legislation Enabling Governor to Override School Closures

Corinne Murdock

If local officials decide on emergency school closures in the future, Tennessee’s governor may have the power to override them. This, according to a bill recommended for passage by the Senate Education Committee on Wednesday. Its companion bill in the House was passed on first consideration on Monday, gaining a little progress since its filing last month.

The bill would also grant all local education authorities (LEAs) with the sole power to open or close schools during an emergency as defined by the Tennessee Code. However, if the governor, local health board, or public health official were to issue orders to the contrary, then the LEA’s decision would be nullified. The bill also noted that the governor’s authority would supersede the authority of local health boards and public health officials. 

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Biden Told Senators China ‘Will Eat Our Lunch’ After Call with Xi Jinping, Report Says

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President Joe Biden warned a bipartisan group of Senators Thursday that China “will eat our lunch” after speaking with Xi Jinping on Wednesday night, Reuters reported.

Biden discussed a range of issues with the Chinese leader, from “coercive and unfair” trade practices to reported human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang and pro-democracy groups in Hong Kong as well as Taiwan, Reuters reported. U.S. and Chinese leaders have not spoken in over 11 months with the last call occurring on March 27 under the Trump administration.

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Steve Bannon Presents ‘War Room: Pandemic’

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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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Commentary: A Monsoon of Manure

RealClearWire

I refuse to watch the impeachment trial as a matter of principle. To devote any attention to this charade would legitimize the corruption of our Constitution. Tuning in would be a tacit acceptance of the blizzard of BS that has buried the national discourse. At least since Donald Trump’s election in 2016, Democrats and their media allies have demanded that we view their smears and lies as high-minded pursuits of the truth. Consider:

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Twitter Locks James O’Keefe Out of His Account for Violating Privacy Rules After Allowing NYT 1619 Project Editor to Dox Conservative Journalist

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Twitter on Thursday  locked conservative activist James O’Keefe, out of his account after he tweeted out a video that allegedly violates the platform’s rules—the same week the platform allowed a celebrated left-wing activist to dox a conservative journalist.

Meanwhile, O’Keefe’s watchdog group Project Veritas appears to have been permanently suspended from Twitter.

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Officials Say They Still Don’t Know Why Officer Brian Sicknick Died Following Capitol Riot

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More than a month after the siege on the U.S. Capitol, the Washington, D.C. medical examiner’s office says it does not know when it will reveal why Capitol Police Officer Brian Sicknick died after responding to the Jan. 6 melee.

“The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will release the cause and manner of death when this information is available,” spokesperson Cheryle Adams said in an email to Just the News.

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Commentary: To Work, PPP Loans Must Be Fully Non-Taxable

RealClearWire

Tax headaches have started early for American small businesses this tax season. States can help these employers and accelerate the economic recovery by clarifying that business expenses paid from Paycheck Protection Plan loans are fully tax-deductible, in-line with federal tax law.

The PPP is one of the most successful government programs in American history. It distributed $525 billion worth of forgivable loans to more than 5 million small businesses nationwide, supporting over 50 million jobs. Without the PPP, unemployment would have been far higher and the economic contraction much more severe. The PPP served as a bridge to get small businesses over the worst depths of the pandemic. Yet state tax rules threaten to undercut its success.

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More Than $1 Trillion in Coronavirus Aid Hasn’t Been Spent, Includes $120 Billion for Small Businesses

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About $1.1 trillion in coronavirus aid, including more than $120 billion for small businesses, has still not been spent, according to a memo Republicans are circulating on Capitol Hill.

The more than $1 trillion in unspent coronavirus relief funds represents a significant portion of the $4 trillion allocated by Congress as part of multiple 2020 stimulus packages, according to the Republican Study Committee (RSC) memo reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. Of the $828 billion allocated for small business loans, about $123.7 billion has not been spent, according to Small Business Administration data.

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U.S. Is Way Ahead of Biden’s New Target for Reopening Schools, Data Shows

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President Joe Biden’s new target for reopening schools is behind where United States schools already are in returning to in-person learning, data shows.

White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said Tuesday that Biden’s school reopening plan calls for “most” schools to have in-person learning “at least” one day a week by the new president’s 100th day in office. Psaki also told reporters that Biden’s plan “is for all schools to reopen, to stay open, to be open five days a week, for kids to be learning.”

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Organization Sen. Rafael Warnock Was CEO of in 2019 Under Investigation for Possible Voter Fraud

Peter D'Abrosca

A newly-elected U.S. Senator from Georgia is under investigation for his ties to a nonprofit that may have committed voter fraud, according to the state’s election officials. 

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) is a respondent in a potential case against The New Georgia Project, which has been referred to prosecutors according to several reports. 

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