The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced on Wednesday that the 2020 tax filing and payment deadline is being pushed back from April 15 to May 17.
Read the full storyMonth: March 2021
Suspect in Custody After Deadly Rampage at Georgia Massage Parlors
Details are emerging after a man was arrested for allegedly committing a series of killings in Georgia on Tuesday.
Robert Alan Long, 21, of Woodstock, was arrested in south Georgia after he allegedly killed eight people of Asian descent in shootings at three different massage parlors.
Read the full storyBiden Leaves Key Immigration Posts Vacant Amid Border Surge
There was no break-in period for the new Department of Homeland Security secretary.
Alejandro Mayorkas went from his confirmation hearing in the Senate to confronting a surge of migrants along the southern border almost immediately, and while the new DHS chief won’t call the current situation a crisis, he did announce Tuesday that the nation is on track to record the highest number of apprehensions in over two decades.
Read the full storyCommentary: Can We Save Our College Students from the Woke Left?
Recent college graduate Davis Soderberg of St. Charles, MO is sounding the alarm about the extent to which the Left has a stranglehold on college campuses across the country.
“If you were to walk into a college classroom, you could quickly identify which students were the liberals and which students were the conservatives,” explained Soderberg, who recently graduated from a public university in Virginia. “The liberals are always the most outspoken because they know their viewpoint is protected and is always favored. It was favored by a majority of their classmates and the professors, which is really scary because students look to the professor as sort of an intellectual higher being.”
Read the full storyDead Missouri Measure to Cut Loathed Personal Property Taxes Revived
The Missouri Senate Monday night rejected a proposed five-year phase-out of the state’s property tax that could have saved state taxpayers nearly $1.5 billion by 2027.
On Thursday, the measure was resurrected as a proposal to make any increases in the personal property tax rate the same percentage as any real property tax rate hikes approved by counties, among a bevy of other provisions.
Read the full storyCommentary: HR1 Threatens Election Integrity
Much ink has been spilled warning of the ramifications should Democrats pass their election “reform” package, HR1 — and for good reason, given how the bill would upend our nation’s electoral system. Democrats claim HR1 is aimed at maximizing voter participation and ending corruption in our election systems, but the truth is that the legislation would do neither. Instead, it will only serve to open up our states’ elections to fraud and public mistrust at a time when we need to bolster voter confidence. Let’s look at just a few of the many areas where HR1 would nationalize elections and cancel out state integrity and confidence-building measures.
Read the full storyTennessee Construction Industry Opposes Metro Nashville Legislation to ‘Radically Change’ Construction Standards
Metro Nashville City Council is considering the imposition of sweeping regulations over construction, specifically the procurement code and industry standards. The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) Greater Tennessee Chapter issued a press release formally opposing the legislation.
In part, the bill would extend direct employment to all temporary workers that are hired onto a Metro Nashville project for at least 30 days. It would also require that all contractors allow Metro-appointed, third-party entities to ensure compliance with the bill.
Read the full storyFour Suspects on the FBI’s Terror Watchlist Arrested at the Border Since October
Since October, four terrorists who are on the FBI’s terror watchlist have been arrested trying to sneak across the southern border, as reported by Fox News.
The United States Customs and Border Protection (CBP) confirmed the news to Congress on Tuesday, revealing that three of the detained terrorists were from Yemen, while the fourth is from Serbia. This is down slightly from the fiscal year 2018, where six members on the terror watchlist, from Yemen and Bangladesh, were arrested at the border.
Read the full storyCrom Carmichael Talks Democrat Flip Flop Filibuster When It Suits Their Purpose
Wednesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio to discuss the Senate filibuster and how Democrats continuously changing the rules.
Read the full storyPolice Group Urges Minneapolis Leaders to Take Action on Autonomous Zone
The National Police Association (NPA) is calling on the city of Minneapolis to attend to its residents who live in or near the “autonomous zone” located at George Floyd Square.
“What the neighbors are saying, in the residential area, is that after darkness falls, criminals are using it to freely commit crimes, deal drugs, things like that, and they’re extremely frustrated,” NPA spokeswoman Betsy Brantner Smith, a retired sergeant, said in an interview with Fox News.
Read the full storyNew Georgia Bill Wants to Restrict City Housing Authority Powers
A new bill in the Georgia General Assembly would, if enacted into law, limit the ability of city housing authorities to operate outside municipal boundaries without authorization. Georgia State Sen. Lindsey Tippins (R-Marietta) is the bill’s primary sponsor, according to the legislature’s website.
Read the full storyFacebook Group Allegedly Calls for Infiltrating, Exposing Members of Loudoun Group Parents Against Critical Theory
A northern Virginia Facebook group is under investigation after members of the group allegedly called for volunteers to infiltrate and hack internet groups of parents who are opposed to critical racism theory initiatives in Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), according to reporting by The Daily Wire.
Read the full storyColumbus Lobbyist Charged for Participation in $60 Million Bribery Scheme Found Dead
A Columbus lobbyist facing charges in a $60 million bribery scheme to pass a bill in the Ohio legislature was found dead earlier this week.
Read the full storyVirginia Gov. Northam Restores Civil Rights to 69,000 Felons
Governor Ralph Northam announced the restoration of civil rights, including voting rights, to 69,000 felons. In the Tuesday announcement, Northam said would restore the rights for anyone who had been released from incarceration.
“Too many of our laws were written during a time of open racism and discrimination, and they still bear the traces of inequity,” Northam said in a press release.
Read the full storyMichigan Democrat Falsely Links Georgia Shootings to Anti-Asian Racism
A Democrat Congressman from Michigan falsely linked Tuesday’s deadly shootings at three massage parlors in Georgia to anti-Asian racism, a motive specifically ruled out by police Wednesday morning.
“The surge in anti-Asian hate crimes is horrifying and unacceptable. We all play a role in supporting the [Asian American Pacific Islander] community. I’m glad the House passed a resolution to condemn racism against Asian Americans. The tragedy in Atlanta requires us all to speak out to #StopAsianHate,” Rep. Dan Kildee (D-MI-05) said on Twitter.
Read the full storyOhio’s Joe Blystone Determined to Take on Establishment in Bid for Governor
In February, Franklin County farmer Joe Blystone announced his GOP candidacy for Governor of the State of Ohio.
Like South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem, Blystone is a rancher and small business owner who believes in medical freedom and opposed mandatory mask orders during Ohio’s COVID response. Unlike Noem, his bid for governor is his first political contest.
Blystone has given himself the moniker “Constitutional Republican” and calls himself “a man of the people who don’t have a voice anymore.”
Read the full storyTennessee House Moves on Gender Transition Bill: Prepubescent Minors Prohibited, Postpubescent Minors Granted with Three Physician Recommendations
Tennessee legislators are moving to ban prepubescent gender transitions, and limit postpubescent minors’ eligibility for gender transitions. The Tennessee House Criminal Justice Subcommittee voted to recommend the bill for passage on Wednesday. State Representative John Ragan (R-Oak Ridge) introduced the bill.
In addition to prohibiting all gender transitions for prepubescent minors, the bill would allow gender transitions for postpubescent minors only with the consent of their parents and recommendation of three doctors, the third doctor being a child psychiatrist. Exceptions for gender transition treatments would be made for those with any confirmed diagnosis of abnormal genitalia, genetic anomalies, physical disease with life-threatening consequences in the absence of intervention, and an accident irreparably mutilating genitalia.
Read the full storyExclusive: Maskless Climate Envoy Kerry Endangers Passengers on Boston to DC Flight
John Forbes Kerry, the U.S. special presidential envoy for climate, while sitting in first-class, took off his mask today as he settled into his book moments before his American Airlines flight from Boston to Washington took off.
The so-called Climate Envoy was not eating, nor drinking, even though first-class passengers are often served before take-off.
Read the full storyMetro Nashville Council Approves Implementing Annual Demographic Reports for Boards and Commissions
Metro Nashville City Council approved legislation implementing annual boards and commissions demographic reports during Tuesday’s meeting. Council member Tom Cash introduced the legislation; his proposed report would focus on the makeup of racial and ethnic minorities, and LGBTQ-identifying individuals. Following submission to the Metro Clerk by October 1 of each year, the report would be posted publicly.
The council voted unanimously to add an amendment to the legislation to include sex and gender on the demographic. The legislation passed on second reading, 33-2. Only council members Steve Glover and Robert Swope voted no.
Read the full storyLegislation Killed in House Subcommittee Lowering E-Verify Threshold Would Have Reverted to State Law Between 2011 and 2016
A bill that was killed last week in the House Banking and Consumer Affairs Subcommittee would have reverted to the threshold required for E-Verify in legislation signed into law by Governor Bill Haslam in 2011 and remained in effect until 2016.
Currently, employers are required under state law to use the E-Verify program to confirm work authorization status of their employees, but only if they have 50 or more employees.
Read the full storyCommentary: There’s No Mandate for Democrats to Nuke the Filibuster
Democrats by no measure have a clear mandate in Washington. But they sure do act like it.
Senate Democrats know that they don’t have support for many items on their radical agenda, more of which Majority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to force votes on in the coming weeks. That’s why talks are recirculating in the Senate to end the filibuster once and for all.
Read the full storyRep. Ilhan Omar Urges Biden Admin to End Contracts Between ICE and Prisons, Calling Treatment of Immigrants ‘Systemic Abuse’
Rep. Ilhan Omar urged President Joe Biden’s administration in a letter Monday to end Immigrations and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) contracts with prisons and jails.
The letter calls for Biden to issue an executive order to end ICE’s contracts with state, county and local jails due to the treatment of the detained immigrants and the facilities’ conditions. The Minnesota Democrat called the conditions of the facilities “systemic abuse.”
“Conditions in the municipal, county, and state jails and prisons contracting with ICE to detain immigrants mirror the systemic abuses in privately operated immigration detention facilities, including mental neglect, long term use of solitary confinement, sexual assault, and lack of access to legal counsel,” Omar wrote in the letter.
Read the full storyVatican: Catholic Church Cannot Bless Gay Unions Because God ‘Cannot Bless Sin’
The Catholic Church cannot bless gay unions since Catholic teaching holds that gay sex is “intrinsically disordered” and marriage is intended for the sake of creating new life, the Vatican re-emphasized Monday.
In a formal response issued Monday, the Vatican’s Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith responded to a question on whether Catholic clergy can bless gay unions with the answer: “Negative.”
The Vatican’s response noted that God “does not and cannot bless sin.”
Read the full storyCNN and The Washington Post Issue Corrections After Misquoting Trump in Phone Call with Georgia Election Official
CNN and the Washington Post issued corrections on Monday, revealing that they “misquoted” some of former President Trump’s comments in a December phone call with Frances Watson, Georgia’s top election investigator.
In their original reports, CNN and the Post claimed Trump ordered Watson to “find the fraud,” and if she succeeded, she would be a “national hero.”
The media outlets were forced to issue mea culpas after the Georgia secretary of state released an audio recording of the December 23 phone call, laying bare what was actually said versus what their anonymous sources claimed was said.
Read the full storyThousands of Immigrant Teenagers to Be Held in Texas Convention Center
Thousands of immigrant teenagers will be held at a convention center in Dallas, Texas, as an increasing number of unaccompanied migrant children occupy available facilities, the Associated Press reported Monday.
Up to 3,000 boys aged 15 to 17 will be held at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas possibly beginning this week, the AP reported. The convention center will be used by federal agencies for up to 90 days as a “decompression center,” according to a memo obtained by the AP.
Read the full storyIllegal Aliens Sentenced for Running Meth Lab in Georgia
Three illegal aliens have been sentenced for operating a methamphetamine lab out of their home in Norcross, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).
“Zury Brito-Arroyo, Bonifacio Brito-Maldonado, and Roberto Arroyo-Garcia have been sentenced to federal prison for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in a home where a minor child resided and within 1,000 feet of a school,” a Monday press release said. “The three men, all of whom had illegally entered the United States from Mexico, utilized a family home in Norcross less than 200 feet from an elementary school to operate a methamphetamine laboratory.”
Read the full storyCommentary: The History of How Saint Patrick’s Day Played a Key Role in Irish Nationhood
Traditionally, March 17 was a day to remember St Patrick, who ministered Christianity in Ireland during the 5th century. But over time, the day has evolved to represent a celebration of Irish culture more generally. Today, as with Halloween and Christmas, the true meaning of the celebration has been watered down even further. Now, it is just as likely to be marked by non-Irish people who use it as an excuse to consume large quantities of alcohol and dress as leprechauns.
Read the full storyMaury County Mayor Andy Ogles Discusses Mule Day in Columbia, Tennessee and Its Origins
Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles to talk about the history and tradition of Mules Day in Columbia, Tennessee.
Read the full storyScreenwriter Roger Simon Reminisces on the Day in the Life as a Former Yale School of Drama Student, Left Wingers and Trump the ‘Scorch’
Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed screenwriter, playwright, and novelist Roger Simon to the studio to discuss growing up as a typical leftist in Yale School of Drama and guys like Trump.
Read the full storyA Mayor for All Citizens: Maury County’s Andy Ogles Talks About His Bi-Partisan Role and Abuses of Emergency Powers
Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Mayor Andy Ogles to the studio to talk about being a mayor and the testimony he will provide in the Tennessee General Assembly on emergency powers.
Read the full storyEmails Show Scientists Scrubbed Early Warning of Potential Lab Origin of COVID-19
Emails obtained through an open records request show that several top scientists declined in an early statement about the origins of SARS-Cov-2 to acknowledge the possibility that the virus had escaped from a lab, a scenario that many disease experts still consider highly plausible.
In February of 2020, the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy directed the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to “rapidly examine the information and data needed to help determine the origins of the novel coronavirus that is causing a global outbreak of respiratory illness.”
Read the full storyThe Epoch Times Senior Political Analyst Roger Simon Explains His Recent Article on Florida’s Ron DeSantis and Big Tech
Tuesday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Senior Political Analyst for The Epoch Times, Roger Simon in the studio to discuss his recent piece.
Read the full storyU.S. Nonprofit with Ties to Wuhan Lab Violated Federal Law by Failing to Disclose Taxpayer Funding, Complaint Alleges
A U.S. nonprofit with close ties to the Wuhan Institute of Virology violated federal law by failing to disclose that taxpayer funds supported its work, according to a complaint a taxpayer watchdog group filed Monday.
EcoHealth Alliance (EHA) diverted $600,000 in taxpayer funds to the WIV in the form of National Institutes of Health subgrants between 2014 and 2019 as part of a research project studying coronaviruses from Chinese bats. But press releases from EHA describing the project failed to disclose that the project was backed by federal dollars, an omission that, according to the White Coat Waste Project, is a violation of a federal law known as the Stevens Amendment.
Read the full storyMetro Nashville City Council Considers Street Parking Overhauls: Implementing License Plate Scanners to Eliminating Free Parking on Sundays and Holidays
Metro Nashville City Council is considering a complete overhaul of street parking through a proposed “Smart Parking Program.” The legislation would overhaul the current street parking system (located as item number 44 under Bills on Second Reading). It would allow contractors to enforce parking violations; shift court date notifications, payment systems, and notice methods to a web and text message-based system; and implement license plate scanner technology. It would abolish free parking on Sundays and holidays, the use of coin-operated meters, and free parking perks for carbon neutral vehicles.
The bill also insisted on updating the term “meter maids” to “parking enforcement patrol.” The sponsors of the bill are Council members Freddie O’Connell, Robert Nash, Tonya Hancock, and Ginny Welsch.
Read the full storyMayorkas: Southern Border Crossings on Pace to Hit 20-Year High
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday that the number of migrants apprehended at the United States’ southern border is on track to hit a two-decade high.
“We are on pace to encounter more individuals on the southwest border than we have in the last 20 years,” Mayorkas said in a statement. “We are expelling most single adults and families. We are not expelling unaccompanied children.”
Read the full storyTennessee AG Alleges Care Services Management in State Committed Medicaid Fraud
Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery this week announced a lawsuit against the Murfreesboro-based Care Services Management and Marquis Mobile Dental Services for wasting taxpayer money and allegedly violating the Tennessee Medicaid False Claims Act. This, according to an emailed press release that Slatery and his staff emailed this month.
Read the full storyCommentary: Capitol Investigation Seeks to Criminalize Political Dissent
In the early hours of March 12, FBI agents in southwestern Florida barricaded a neighborhood to prepare to raid the home of one resident. Christopher Worrell of Cape Coral was arrested and charged with several counts related to the January 6 Capitol melee. Even though Worrell had been cooperating with the FBI for two months, the agency nonetheless unleashed a massive, and no doubt costly, display of force to take him into custody.
Law enforcement agents, according to one neighbor who spoke with a reporter, wore “whole outfits . . . like military and it was crazy. There was like six or seven . . . big black vehicles. They busted down the front door.” The raid included “armed men with helmets and a tanker truck” and was partially executed by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force.
Worrell never entered the Capitol building on January 6; he isn’t accused of committing a violent crime. But a D.C. judge overturned a Florida judge’s ruling to release Worrell pending further review of his case. He remains in jail.
Read the full storyChina Blocks Use of Private Messaging App
Users trying to access the secure messaging app Signal from mainland China reportedly had to use a virtual private network to get around what seems to be a government block, according to the Associated Press Tuesday.
The Chinese government maintains censorship of websites, services and apps through a “Great Firewall” which can be bypassed using a virtual private network (VPN), according to the AP. Signal is one of the few messaging apps that allows for encrypted communications between users in China.
Read the full storyGeorgia Secretary of State Official Who Sourced False WAPO Story About Donald Trump Explains Her Actions
The Georgia Secretary of State investigator who was the anonymous source for a Washington Post story about former U.S. President Donald Trump — that people now discredit — said Tuesday the paper got the story correct. This, aside from a few minor mistakes, said Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs, the anonymous source.
Read the full storySenate Confirms Deb Haaland of New Mexico as Interior Secretary
Former U.S. Rep. Deb Haaland of New Mexico, who opposes fracking and oil drilling on federal lands, was confirmed as President Joe Biden’s new Interior secretary Monday in a narrow, 52-40, vote.
Haaland, who will become the first cabinet secretary of Native American descent, was criticized by many Republicans and supporters of the U.S. oil and gas industry as being extreme on climate change.
“America’s energy workers will be disappointed, but this close vote is hardly a ringing endorsement for Deb Haaland and the Biden anti-energy agenda,” Power The Future’s Western States Director Larry Behrens said in a statement. “With 40 Senators voting against her confirmation, it’s clear many across the country don’t trust Deb Haaland to run a critical federal agency.”
Read the full storySeven Michigan Tech Programs Discriminate Against Males, Title IX Complaint Alleges
Michigan Technological University has seven federally funded programs and scholarships that do not enforce Title IX’s prohibition of sex discrimination against men, alleges a complaint filed with the Office for Civil Rights.
It was filed March 2 by University of Michigan-Flint economics Professor Mark Perry.
The complaint was influenced, Perry said, by Michigan Tech associate professor of electrical and computer engineering Jeffrey Burl’s recent letter. In it, Burl alleges he has been “systematically discriminated against” as a white male at MTU during his 28-year career there.
Read the full storyVaccine to be Available for All Ages by March 29, DeWine Says
Vaccinations will soon become available to those older than 16 in Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced on Tuesday.
Read the full storyGeorgia to Use $277M in Federal Coronavirus Aid on Transportation Projects
Georgia will use $277 million in federal coronavirus relief for local transportation projects, Gov. Brian Kemp’s office said Monday.
Kemp’s office said the money was set aside for the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) to offset projected COVID-19-related revenue gaps.
“I am thankful for these one-time federal resources that will help keep Georgians working while also keeping our economy on the road to recovery,” Kemp said.
Read the full storyVirginia Takes Restaurant to Court After Owner Doesn’t Obey Mask Requirements
Gourmeltz 90’s Music Bar & Drafthouse, based in Spotsylvania, has had its health certification suspended after owner Matt Strickland refused to enforce bar closures and mask restrictions. Strickland refused to close after the certification was suspended, and the attorney general is now seeking an injunction against Strickland that will force Gourmeltz to close, according to Fox5. Strickland had a court hearing on Friday, and is now waiting for a decision from the judge.
Read the full storyVirginia Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Face off in Debate
Four of the five Democratic candidates for Governor discussed legal reform, racial justice, environmental justice, and good government in a debate hosted by The Virginia People’s Debates. Delegate Lee Carter (D-Manassas), Jennifer Carrol Foy, Senator Jennifer McClellan (D-Richmond), and Lieutenant Governor Justin Fairfax participated; front-runner Terry McAuliffe was absent.
Read the full storyJ.D. Vance, Hillbilly Elegy Author and Early Never Trumper, Likely Candidate for Ohio GOP U.S. Senate Nomination
J.D. Vance is expected to announce his candidacy for the 2022 U.S. Senate in Ohio.
“All signs point to J.D. launching a run in the coming months,” a source told the Washington Times.
In a video sent to The Star, Vance appears to be the first high-profile candidate who will not position himself as a Trump Republican – if his views from 2016 and 2017 remain.
Roanoke Passes Firearms Ban
The Roanoke City Council passed a firearms and ammunition ban for its buildings and parks in a six-to-one vote on Monday night. Council Member Stephanie Moon Reynolds voted against the ordinance, objecting to the portion that bans firearms in parks.
Read the full storyTrump Hits All Time High in GOP Favorability in Tennessee
According to a Tennessee Star poll of 1001 likely Tennessee Republican primary voters, former President Donald J. Trump has all-time high approval rating among the GOP in the state, more than two months after leaving office.
The poll found that 89.7 percent of those voters have a favorable impression of the 45th president, compared to 7.4 percent who view him unfavorably.
Read the full storyThe Small Businesses with the Largest Increase in the Number of Employees Are Exempt from E-Verify
Tennessee small businesses that experienced the largest increases in the number of employees over the past five years are exempt from the requirement to ensure that their employees are not illegal aliens through the use of the federal government’s e-verification system.
At the federal level, E-Verify is a voluntary program.
Read the full storyCommentary: Open Borders Are an Assault on Common Sense
So begins one of the most pivotal pronouncements in the advancement of human liberty. With those words, Thomas Jefferson threw down a gauntlet at the feet of not just the king of England, but also at Parliament and the entire entrenched elite who, up until then, had reserved power unto themselves by dint of their education, upbringing and wealth.
No more, Jefferson insisted. By declaring the truths of equality and of unalienable rights to be “self-evident,” Jefferson freed the common people from the yoke of oppression they had too long labored under — including the oppression of being told what to think by their “betters.”
This, in sum, is the genius of American democracy, that it was based on “Common Sense,” not just the pamphlet by Thomas Paine but the very concept itself. The American people had discovered that they were well enough equipped by their Creator to take on any task, meet any challenge, confront any oppressor. They could think for themselves. That was the key.
Read the full story