The standardized testing scores of students across the state of Tennessee heavily declined in the past year, largely due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The results released by Governor Bill Lee and the Department of Education revealed that scores showed a 5% decrease in proficiency since the year prior.
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We know the nature of mass hysterias in history, and how they can overwhelm and paralyze what seem to be stable societies.
We know the roots and origins of the cult of wokeness.
And we know, too, how such insanity—from the Salem witch trials to Jacobinism to McCarthyism—can spread, despite alienating most of the population, through fear and the threat of personal ruin or worse. These are the dark sides of the tulip, hula-hoop, and pet-rock fads, the mass obsessions so suited to past affluent Western societies.
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About 350 concerned residents crowded into a church in Georgetown, Delaware, on Thursday evening to hear from a panel of experts about critical race theory—one of whom likened its spread throughout American culture to Mao Zedong’s communist Cultural Revolution in China.
“Today, communism is taking root in America,” speaker Xi Van Fleet said.
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The Australian government will deploy several hundred soldiers to Sydney to begin enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns Monday following a rise in delta variant infections.
The troops were requested by New South Wales Police Commissioner Mick Fuller on Thursday to assist in enforcing COVID-19 lockdowns, Fuller announced in a statement. Since June, an outbreak of the delta variant has resulted in almost 3,000 infections, but only nine deaths, the BBC reported.
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If you judged the US’s current COVID-19 situation only by the headlines, you’d come away thinking that we’re spiraling back into pandemic disaster. Localities like Los Angeles County and St. Louis have reimposed mask mandates on their citizens, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention just revised its “guidance” to say that, actually, fully vaccinated individuals should still wear masks in certain situations. Meanwhile, mainstream media coverage of the rise of the “Delta variant” is soaked in alarmism.
Yet at the same time that all this alarm is mounting, the actual number of COVID-19 deaths is at a nadir. Harvard Medical School Professor Martin Kulldorff pointed this out on Twitter, writing that “In [the] USA, COVID mortality is now the lowest since the start of the pandemic in March 2020.”
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A legal battle and war of words between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and the federal government over COVID-positive migrants being released into Texas communities escalated over the weekend.
The U.S. Department of Justice sued the state of Texas Friday over an executive order Abbott issued restricting the transport of infected immigrants who entered the country illegally being released into the general population.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office would not say whether the House planned to take up a bipartisan bill that would declassify any information regarding the origin of COVID-19.
The bill, titled the COVID-19 Origin Act of 2021, passed the Senate through unanimous consent in May. It would require the Office of the Director of National Intelligence to declassify within 90 days “any and all information relating to the potential links between the Wuhan Institute of Virology and the origin of the coronavirus disease.”
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It may not be today. It may not be tomorrow. It may not be next week. It may not be this month, when the rapid ascension of the Delta variant in the United States could send confirmed daily case counts spiking to 200,000 or more before settling down again. It may not even be next year. But someday, you will almost certainly be infected with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.
This uncomfortable fact may come as a surprise to many Americans, particularly to those who have spent hours sanitizing surfaces and groceries, who have dutifully adorned a mask even when not required to do so, and who have made the simple, science-backed decision to get vaccinated. SARS-CoV-2 has already spread around the world, infecting hundreds of millions or more. The genie is out of the bottle, and it is not going back in.
“We will be dealing with this virus forever,” Dr. Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) at the University of Minnesota, said in an interview one year ago.
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The Evergreen State College professor who was caught on camera screaming at her white colleagues has elected to resign, according to an internal announcement.
“I am writing to let you know that our faculty colleague Naima Lowe has elected to resign her position at the College,” Provost Jennifer Drake wrote Monday in an email to faculty and administrators, praising Lowe for her work teaching “feminist and queer theory, race, and decolonial studies.”
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Over 200 Afghan allies arrived at Fort Lee, in Virginia, on the first of many expected flights bringing thousands of people who assisted the U.S. military to America, Axios reported Friday.
President Joe Biden promised to help Afghan interpreters and other people who aided U.S. forces during the war, according to Axios. Over 700 people and their family members are expected to come to the U.S. on special immigrant visas as American forces withdraw from Afghanistan.
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House Democratic leaders issued a joint statement calling on the White House to disregard a recent Supreme Court ruling and extend the national eviction moratorium.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and the other top House Democratic leaders urged President Joe Biden’s administration to extend the eviction moratorium until Oct. 18, 2021 and said doing so is a “moral imperative,” according to the joint statement released Sunday. The moratorium — first introduced by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last year to prevent landlords from evicting low-income tenants during the pandemic — expired over the weekend after Congress failed to pass legislation extending it.
“Action is needed, and it must come from the Administration,” the House Democrats said. “That is why House leadership is calling on the Administration to immediately extend the moratorium.”
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An EU privacy regulator hit Amazon with an $887 million fine for violating laws related to the processing of personal data.
The Luxembourg agency National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) issued the fine, imposed July 16 and revealed Friday, ruling that Amazon’s processing of personal data in relation to its advertising practices was in violation of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), according to Amazon’s 10-Q SEC filing. The fine is the largest ever issued under the GDPR, The Wall Street Journal reported.
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Democratic Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser denied breaking her own mask mandate at a wedding Saturday night, despite photo evidence showing her seated maskless at a table.
The Washington Examiner first reported late Saturday that the mayor had officiated a wedding attended by “hundreds of unmasked guests” at 5-star Adams Morgan hotel, The Line DC.
The Examiner included a photograph of the mayor seated at a table maskless, noting that she “did not wear a mask despite not actively eating or drinking.” Several other guests in the picture are also not wearing masks.
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As violent crime increases in St. Louis, residents’ outrage towards Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner appears to be growing as well.
Gardner, who assumed office at the beginning of 2017 on a progressive platform, is St. Louis’ top prosecutor. But she has taken an extremely lax approach to actually prosecuting violent criminals, angering residents and victims’ family members.
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Donors to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) criticized the university for its perceived sympathy towards “Marxism” and Black Lives Matter during the debate over whether to offer New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones a tenured position, according to emails seen by Fox News.
The emails, sent to various UNC faculty, criticized the university for its perceived affiliation with the Black Lives Matter movement, as well as its tolerance of “Marxism”, its diversity and equity policies, and its promotion of Hannah-Jones, according to Fox News.
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Trial officially commenced in Charlotte, Tennessee, Monday for Steven Wiggins who stands accused in the May 2018 shooting death of Dickson County Sergeant Daniel Baker.
Wiggins has pleaded not guilty to all charges, foremost among them premeditated first-degree murder.
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A George Mason University law professor with naturally acquired immunity from COVID is fighting against his employer’s strict COVID vaccine mandate.
Antonin Scalia Law School Professor Todd Zywicki, who recovered from a bout with COVID and has blood tests showing antibodies to the virus, said he will not agree to the university’s policy that employees get the vaccine or face numerous sanctions.
“George Mason is forcing me to choose between serving my students on one hand and undergoing an unnecessary and potentially risky medical procedure on the other,” Zywicki said in a statement.
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The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association (MPPOA) called for a “response” and “potentially further action” from the City of Bloomington following comments made by Bloomington Human Rights Commissioner Anita Smithson. In a letter, the MPPOA called Smithson’s comments “grossly inappropriate” at best and “appalling, divisive, and bring suspicion to the Human Rights Department” at worst.
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Iowa Rep. Cindy Axne, one of the most vulnerable Democratic incumbents heading toward the 2022 midterm elections, spent an early July afternoon talking to constituents’ from the cool environs of an ice cream shop in her district when the discussion suddenly heated up.
“I just wanted to ask, are you concerned about the rising gas prices and the rise in the cost of consumer goods here in Iowa and in America?” one constituent asked.
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LOUDON, Tennessee – Natalie Winters, Senior Reporter at The National Pulse warned a group of at least 300 attendees at a Tellico Village Conservative Club meeting Wednesday of an “axis of evil” between the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and American elites.
Winters, while her title may be senior reporter, is anything but. Rather, she is a very articulate, engaging and credible 20-year old University of Chicago student originally from Santa Monica, California. In addition to reporting for Raheem Kassam’s The National Pulse, Winters is also a contributor to Steve Bannon’s War Room.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to clarify the definition of infrastructure and the systemic crushing of the middle class.
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Fulton County election officials have failed to meet a second response date they set to provide The Georgia Star News with complete chain of custody documents for absentee ballots deposited into drop boxes during the November 3, 2020, general election. For a third time, Fulton County has extended their response date, this time to August 6, 2021.
Fulton County’s communication about the third extension comes more than eight months and five follow-up requests after The Star News filed an initial open records request on December 1, 2020, for the drop box transfer forms that document the critical chain of custody of absentee ballots deposited in 37 drop boxes installed throughout Fulton County for the 41 days of the November 2020 election period.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss big tech censorship, federal regulations, and how the US Supreme Court will rule in the Trump lawsuit.
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Between July 23 and July 30, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents in Arizona announced that they had arrested five previously-convicted sex offenders, all attempting to reenter the United States illegally.
Of those arrests, four of the attempted border-crossers had previously been convicted of sex crimes involving children.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed News Editor of Human Events Magazine Brent Hamacheck to the newsmakers line to discuss their legacy and mission.
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Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed three bills dealing with the consequences of a 15-months backlog at the Secretary of State’s office extending the validation of state driver’s licenses and ID cards.
“The pandemic was tough on all of us, and these bills put Michigan drivers first by giving Michiganders the flexibility they need to renew their drivers license and IDs,” Whitmer said in a statement. “It is crucial that we continue to offer services at our Secretary of State that fit the needs of all residents as we move forward.”
The three bills add 120 days of validity for the documents expired between March 1, 2020, and March 31, 2021.
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Outgoing Ohio Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH), reached across the aisle to cosponsor the Digital Equity Act of 2021, which was later passed and slipped into the more than 2700 page, $3.5 trillion infrastructure bill agreed upon by the U.S. Senate last week.
U.S. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), announced the introduction of the bill on her website on June 1:
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A local judge has ordered that DeKelb County landlords may not evict tenants as the national moratorium on evictions expires.
“DeKalb Chief Superior Court Judge Asha Jackson recently signed a new emergency order creating a ban on evictions throughout the county for another 60 days,” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said. “The order was based on the continued COVID-19 public health emergency and the cyberattack that targeted DeKalb’s Tenant-Landlord Assistance Coalition earlier this year, dramatically slowing its distribution of federal aid.”
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Florida’s cruise industry has been in the middle of legal battles and a resurgence in COVID cases in Florida, but the cruises have resumed for some cruise lines out of Florida.
Royal Caribbean launched a test voyage, and four of the passengers, all of which are vaccinated, have tested positive for COVID. After quarantining and tested negative, they were allowed to disembark in Freeport, Bahamas.
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Ohio plans to spend more federal tax dollars to convince more people to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
Gov. Mike DeWine recently announced the state plans to pay $100 to each state employee for getting the vaccine. Their spouses would receive $25.
For spouses and employees enrolled in the state medical plan, the money will come from funds dedicated to state employee health and wellness, which is funded through state employee payroll deductions and state agency contributions. For those not enrolled, the state will use coronavirus relief funds. That is a small number of employees, according to Molly O’Reilly McGhee, public information officer for the Administrative Support Division.
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In a video revealed Monday, Democratic Virginia delegate candidate Katie Sponsler amplified her recently publicized comment about police violence with pointed words to someone filming and questioning her about it: “Enjoy your soulless life.”
An audio recording that came to light last week showed the candidate for House District 66 saying of police, “There’s definitely some who are murderers.”
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Governors in wildfire country had a message for President Joe Biden and Congress on Friday: it’s time for the federal government to step in and manage its forests because their state resources are running on empty.
In 2021, 83 large fires have burned more than 1.7 million acres in 13 states, the National Interagency Fire Center reports. Some 547,000 acres have been lost to fires in Oregon, where the state’s Bootleg Fire has swelled to 413,000 acres and has become the nation’s largest fire. While some 22,000 wildland firefighters and support personnel beat back the flames nationwide, states governments are calling on Biden to help them rewrite the nation’s firefighting playbook.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom said as much to Biden on Friday at a virtual news briefing. More specifically, Newsom took aim at the U.S. Forest Service response to the Tamarack Fire south of Lake Tahoe that grew to 625 acres before creeping into Nevada over little more than a three-week span this month.
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Georgia State Rep. Timothy Barr (R-Lawrenceville), currently running for Georgia’s 10th Congressional District, is not friendly to former U.S. President Donald Trump, according to a recent article on NationalFile.com Barr did not return The Georgia Star News’ two requests for comment before Monday’s stated deadline.
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The Ohio Republican Party (ORP) has given the 2022 re-election campaign of Governor Mike DeWine (R-OH) $870,968 since January 1, 2021, despite the fact that DeWine has two announced primary challengers for the Republican gubernatorial nomination–former Congressman Jim Renacci (R-OH) and Joe Blystone.
Recent filings by the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee State Candidate Fund with the campaign finance division of Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose’s office show the party gave the 2022 re-election campaign of Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted a $500,000 payment on July 30 without the approval of the party’s fiscal review committee or a formal endorsement of the governor’s campaign against rivals for the GOP nomination.
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Five out of the six “newly reported” COVID deaths for Minnesota were actually from February. The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) heralded Monday as having the highest number of newly reported deaths in the last two months. A tweet, from a person who analyzes the Minnesota data showed the specific dates that the “newly reported” deaths were from.
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Three members of Congress from Michigan are asking the Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a formal inquiry as to why the department dropped its investigation of nursing home deaths in the state.
The DOJ announced July 22 it would cease an investigation into Michigan nursing home deaths from COVID-19 and whether those deaths were a result of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s policies. The investigation was begun during the administration of former President Donald Trump.
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A complaint filed by the nonprofit Michigan Freedom Fund (MFF) last week alleges that that state’s governor, Gretchen Whitmer, has taken illegal advantage of a campaign-finance loophole to raise unlawful amounts of cash.
Individuals may contribute up to $7,150 according to state law, though a 1984 administrative ruling by then Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin (D) sought to negate that limit for candidates facing recalls. Whitmer has relied on that ruling in surpassing the contribution limit.
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U.S. Rep. Austin Scott (R-GA-08), who serves on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, shared his worries about cheap produce imports, the impact of cheaper labor costs in Mexico, and how this affects Georgia farmers. Committee members held a hearing entitled, “21st Century Food Systems: Controlled Environment Agriculture’s Role in Protecting Domestic Food Supply Chains and Infrastructure.”
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Senator Joe Morrissey (D-Virginia) is calling for Attorney General Mark Herring to investigate alleged civil rights violations associated with Virginia’s skill games ban that took effect in July.
“Last session, the General Assembly banned skill games while at the same time they authorized casinos to be built, they expanded historical horse betting, they authorized online sports betting. But the people who were left out are these small business operators that represent the fabric of Virginia,” Morrissey said in a press conference Monday morning.
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Minneapolis Public Schools explicitly lists critical race theory as a “framework” for its new ethnic studies graduation requirement.
According to left-wing critics, critical race theory is strictly a legal theory developed 40 years ago and since it isn’t explicitly referenced in some K-12 course catalogs, it therefore isn’t taught in the classroom at all.
But “ethnic studies” courses seem to be a popular vehicle for delivering CRT-inspired ideas to young students.
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Georgia Agriculture Secretary and candidate for U.S. Senate Gary Black launched a new ad on Monday and took aim at Herschel Walker, a potential primary opponent.
In the nearly 30-second ad, Black mocks Walker for a recent video released by the former NFL running back that hinted at a campaign launch.
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U.S. Senator Marco Rubio criticized the media for causing “hysteria” among Americans over the new rise in COVID-19 cases that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said is the pandemic of the unvaccinated.
According to CDC data, on Thursday and Friday of last week combined, there were almost 40,000 new cases reported in Florida, which is almost 32% of all cases that were recorded across the country during the same time.
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RICHMOND, Virginia – The budget bill to allocate $4.3 billion in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds passed out of the House of Delegates Committee on Appropriations on Monday, the first step to passing Governor Ralph Northam’s proposals for the money.
But the first day of the second 2022 special session saw legislative gridlock between the Senate and the House of Delegates. The House passed HJ 7003, which establishes the rules and schedule for how the session will operate. When the legislation was sent to the Senate, Senate Democratic leaders introduced three amendments which received broad bipartisan support.
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The siblings of U.S. Representative Paul Gosar (R-AZ-04) slammed their brother in a recent opinion piece for his behavior, claiming their brother “betrayed America.”
“Although his colleagues in Congress and others in the media seem to only recently be paying attention, we have been aware of his unhinged behavior for years,” the trio of Gosar siblings wrote in their piece published by NBC Think on Sunday.
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Numerous candidates are vying for a Congressional seat in South Florida left vacant by the late Congressman Alcee Hastings, but only one is putting millions of her own dollars into her campaign.
Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, CEO of Trinity Health Care Services in Miramar, has contributed $2.3 million of her own finances into her campaign, which is $1 million more than seven other Democratic candidates have raised, combined. Cherfilus-McCormick is prepared to contribute more if need be.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) said Monday that it’s time for students to put their virtual learning behind and walk back into their classrooms — without a COVID-19 mask mandate. And Sexton also said he and other state legislators have a plan to restrain public school district officials who think otherwise.
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