Williamson County to Limit Speakers at School Board Meetings, Require Proof of Residence

The Williamson County School Board announced on Friday that they will limit the number of speakers allowed to address the members and require proof of residence in order to speak.

Additionally, potential speakers must email the school board in advance to secure a position, detailing first/last name, complete address, topic of comment, organization represented, and a copy of a Tennessee state ID.

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Carol Swain Joins the Texas Public Policy Foundation as a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies

Dr. Carol Swain, a former professor at Vanderbilt University and Princeton University, will join the Texas Public Policy Foundation as a Distinguished Senior Fellow for Constitutional Studies, according to a press release from the group on Friday.

In her position, Swain will assist the foundation in initiatives that examine Critical Race Theory (CRT) and the importance of civics education.

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Nashville Mayor John Cooper Attends Grand Opening of New Headquarters for Project Return

Mayor John Cooper attended the grand opening of Project Return’s new Nashville headquarters Thursday. The organization focuses on helping former prison inmates find resources to return to the community.

Cooper thanked the organization’s hard work for the past forty years, and said that he was grateful to be celebrating the new 109 Lafayette St. location.

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Former Nashville Mayor and Current Candidate for Davidson County Circuit Court Judge David Briley Commemorates His Role in the Leftist Occupy Movement

Last night former Nashville Mayor David Briley reflected on his role in the Occupy Wall Street movement on its tenth anniversary. In 2011, the movement took place at Nashville’s Legislative Plaza and Briley was one of its many attenders. Briley said that when “free speech and free association were being threatened at the most public forum of the state,” that he was proud to represent and preserve the rights of those in Nashville.

Briley announced his running for Circuit Court judge on July 15, 2021, saying that he’s running “to ensure that the law is enforced fairly, and [he] will always act with independence, integrity and impartiality.”

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U.S. Projects Global Emissions Will Continue to Rise Rapidly Through 2050 Despite Shift to Renewables

The federal government released its annual international energy projection Wednesday, and the projection showed global emissions will increase by about 25% over 2020 levels by 2050.

While regional policies are expected to decrease emission intensity, or the rate of pollution relative to the energy produced, emissions will continue to increase due to the growth of developing nations, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported. The 38 Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries will see a 5% growth in emissions by 2050, but non-members will produce 35% more emissions in that same time span.

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Several Dozen Killed in Friday Suicide Bombing at Afghan Mosque

Afghanistan mosque

Several dozen worshippers were killed Friday in a suicide bombing at a Shiite mosque in Afghanistan’s northern city of Kunduz. The attack is the deadliest in the country since U.S. forces completely withdrew from the region in late August.

It is not yet confirmed which group is responsible for the attack, though it displayed key elements of those carried out by the Islamic State-Khorasan Province, an Islamic State regional affiliate that has targeted Shiite civilians in the past.

The attack was conducted at about 1 p.m. local time as weekly mosque-goers were attending a sermon. A spokesman for the provincial government reported that at least 46 people were killed, though that figure is expected to rise significantly. Hundreds of patients in critical condition were admitted to local hospitals following the blast.

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Manchin Condemns Schumer’s GOP Bash After Parties Compromise on Debt Limit, Says ‘Civility Is Gone’

Joe Manchin

West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin was once again at odd with his party Thursday evening, as fellow Democrat and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer laid into his GOP colleagues during a floor speech following a vote to approve legislation that would temporarily raise the debt ceiling.

“Republicans played a dangerous and risky partisan game, and I am glad that their brinksmanship did not work,” said Schumer, beginning a series of remarks that would target his colleagues across the aisle, including 11 of whom voted to end debate on the debt ceiling measure, allowing for the full vote to happen.

Manchin, who could be seen seated direct behind Schumer, as the New York lawmaker made his remarks, appeared at first to be shaking his head disapprovingly before placing his head in his hands.

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Poll: A Majority of Americans Think Misinformation Is a Problem

The majority of Americans believe U.S. politicians and social media companies spread more misinformation than any foreign government, including adversaries like China and Russia, according to a new poll.

The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll, released Friday, found that about 75% of Americans believed politicians in the U.S., social media companies and social media users are the biggest drivers of misinformation. Just under half of respondents, however, thought that the U.S. government was responsible for misinformation, while just over half said the same for Russia and China.

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Commentary: January 6th Defendants and the Court of Public Opinion

Capitol Riot

George Tanios’ fiancée encouraged him to go to Washington on January 6 to hear President Trump’s speech. “You’re gonna regret it if you don’t go,” she said, hoping he could take a break from working 100-hours-a-week to run his popular sandwich shop in Morgantown, West Virginia.

Tanios and I both laughed after he told me that during a two-hour interview this week. (I was in contact with his fiancée, Amanda, as she cared for their three young children while he was incarcerated for five months.)

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Poll: 44 Percent of Republicans Want a Trump Presidential Bid in 2024

Donald Trump smiling

A Wednesday Pew Research Center poll found that nearly half of Republicans would like to see former President Donald Trump launch another presidential bid in 2024.

At least 44% of Republicans stated they would like to see Trump start a second presidential campaign in 2024. Furthermore, 67% of Republicans would like to see Trump remain a major political figure “for many years to come,” according to the poll.

Of the 67% of Republicans who want Trump to maintain his status as a major political figure, 22% stated they would rather Trump use his influence “to support another presidential candidate who shared his views in the 2024 election rather than run for office himself,” according to the poll. The poll also showed that 32% of Republicans would prefer Trump not “remain a national political figure for many years to come.”

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U.S. Economy Added 194,000 Jobs in September, Badly Missing Expectations

Person using a laptop, pointing to the screen

The U.S. economy reported an increase of 194,000 jobs in September, and the unemployment rate fell to 4.8%, according to Department of Labor statistics.

The number of unemployed people fell by 710,000 to 7.7  million, according to the Department of Labor statistics released Friday.   Economists projected that employers created 500,000f jobs in September, more than double the figure in August, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Despite the spike in employment, the labor market remains thin due to the pandemic, and job growth earlier in the year was considerably stronger, according to the WSJ.

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Federal Appeals Court Temporarily Reinstates Texas Abortion Law

A federal appeals court on Friday night temporarily reinstated Texas’ restrictive abortion law, staying a preliminary injunction granted earlier this week by a federal judge who sought to block the law.

The ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday night handed a win to anti-abortion advocates and lawmakers in Texas who have sought to prohibit most abortions after six weeks of conception.

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Colorado Hospital Denies Kidney Transplant for Unvaccinated Patient

On Tuesday, the University of Colorado’s hospital system declared that it will no longer allow organ transplants for patients who have not yet received the coronavirus vaccine, as reported by The Daily Caller.

The decision was made after it was revealed that patient Leilani Lutali, who is currently on the system’s kidney transplant list, has not been vaccinated. Her would-be donor, Jamie Fougner, is also unvaccinated.

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Afghan Father Who Helped U.S. Forces Sues Feds for Not Saving His Sons Stranded In Afghanistan

aerial view of Kabul

An Afghan father and ally to American military operations in the country sued the U.S. in an effort to reunite with his two sons who are in hiding in Afghanistan, the Associated Press reported on Thursday.

Mohammad decided to request asylum in the U.S. after the Taliban sent a death threat to his home in Afghanistan where his wife and two sons were in 2019, according to the AP. He petitioned for visas for his wife and children before she died of a heart attack in 2020, forcing his sons to go into hiding with their grandmother and uncle.

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Rep. Andy Biggs Says During Congressional Hearing ‘We Don’t Know’ Whether Trump or Biden Won in Arizona

The House Oversight Committee held a hearing Thursday on the results of the audit of the independent Maricopa County ballot audit ordered by the Arizona Senate. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) found the audit results troubling, leading him to question whether Joe Biden really won the election in Arizona.

At the beginning of the hearing, Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD-08) asked Biggs who won the presidential election in Arizona. Biggs responded, “We don’t know. There are a lot of issues with this election that took place.” He said the only reason the hearing is being conducted is because the chair, Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-12), wants to see any election integrity legislation scuttled. 

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Republican Party of Virginia Files IRS Complaint Against Nonprofit for Allegedly Intervening in Gubernatorial Election

The Republican Party of Virginia is filing a complaint with the IRS alleging that 501(c)(3) nonprofit Virginia Excels had violated tax law by engaging in “overt and unambiguous political campaign intervention” to support Terry McAuliffe.

“On September 7, 2021, only 10 days before early voting began, Virginia Excels issued a press release touting its new ‘report’ on eliminating the income tax. The ‘report’ appears to be one of the first statements the organization has ever issued on taxes,” an RPV press release states.

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U.S. Senate Candidates Timken, Ryan Unveil Third Quarter U.S. Senate Fundraising Ahead of October 15 Deadline

U.S. Senate candidates Jane Timken and U.S. Representative Tim Ryan offered a peak into their third quarter fundraising efforts this week ahead of the formal Oct. 15 deadline.

Jane Timken, the former Ohio Republican Party chairwoman, announced raising $1.7 million from about 1,200 donors during the quarter ended Sept. 30, leaving her with $3.1 million cash on hand in the race against six other announced candidates for the GOP nomination to replace outgoing U.S. Senator Rob Portman, R-OH.

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Poised to Miss First Deadline, Virginia Redistricting Commission Collapses

The Virginia Redistricting Commission collapsed Friday afternoon while facing a Sunday deadline to complete final maps to present to the General Assembly. The commission failed to break through partisan deadlocks on which drafts to use as a starting point, the latest in weeks of perfect party-line splits in the habitually deadlocked commission. In despair, three citizen members walked out of the meeting breaking quorum and leaving questions about the future of the commission.

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Arizona State Rep. Turns State Ballot Integrity Project into National Opportunity

Mark Finchem, the State Representative from Arizona who has also received the endorsement of former President Donald Trump in a bid to become that State’s Secretary of State in 2022, has effectively taken his Arizona Ballot Integrity Project (BIP) national as of this past Wednesday when he and approximately 30 others from around the country gathered at the suburban Dallas offices of international authentication leader, Authentix, to create a process for introducing a highly counterfeit-resistant paper ballot. 

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Gableman Announces Cooperation from Wisconsin Cities in Election Investigation

Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman announced on Friday that there has been cooperation from subpoenaed Wisconsin cities in the ongoing election audit. “Following our recent issuance of subpoenas, we have received encouraging responses from most of the city officials involved, and we expect their full cooperation in scheduled interviews and the expected transfer of all related documents, data, and communications regarding their management of the 2020 election,” Gableman said.

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State of Florida Submits Plan to Spend $7 Billion in Education Funds

Young boy sitting in a library, reading

The State of Florida has officially submitted its education plan to the U.S. Department of Education (U.S. DOE) outlining how the state intends to spend $7 billion in education funding stemming from the American Rescue Plan Act.

Approximately $2.3 billion was being withheld from the state because the state did not apply for the money. Florida notably became the last state in the county to apply for its final third apportionment from the U.S. DOE.

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Arizona Gov. Ducey Plans to Defy Biden Administration, Continue Awarding Grants to Schools Without Mask Mandates

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday pledged to defy an order from the U.S. Department of the Treasury, instructing Ducey to stop using COVID-19 relief to award grants to schools that do not have a mask mandate.

Calling the order from the Treasury Department “federal overreach,” Ducey explained that the two programs will continue, or he will challenge the Biden administration in court.

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Georgia U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath Demands Yearly Federal Report on School Shootings, Including Racial, Ethnic, and Sexual Orientation Data

U.S. Representative Lucy McBath (D-GA-06) has filed legislation that would, if enacted into law, require that federal officials publish an annual report about school violence, with a heavy emphasis on racial and economic demographics. To file the bill, McBath paired with U.S. Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL-23). They labeled the bill the School Shooting Safety and Preparedness Act.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer’s Reinstated Prevailing Wage Rules Rewards Union Donors, Critics Say

Gov. Grethcen Whitmer announces that Michigan received a $10 million grant to support the state’s registered apprenticeship expansion efforts and increase employment opportunities for Michiganders.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s announcement this week that she is reinstating the state’s prevailing wage rules is drawing accusations that the move is nothing more than a sop to the governor’s extensive list of donors affiliated with organized labor.

“Governor Whitmer is putting campaign donors before Michigan’s hardworking taxpayers,” Eric Ventimiglia, executive director for Michigan Rising Action, said in a statement that included an extensive list of skilled trades unions that have contributed to the governor’s campaign war chest. “Hundreds of thousands of Michiganders worked to place this initiative in front of the legislature, and her unilateral decision to break the law is another example of Whitmer pandering to her highest donors.”

Among the donors listed by MRA are the Painters & Allied Trades Political Action Committee; Michigan Council of Carpenters PAC; Michigan State AFL-CIO; and several pipefitters unions.

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Williamson County Commissioners Nominate Top-Level Pfizer Official to Replace Brad Fiscus on School Board

Two Williamson County commissioners have announced their choice to replace Brad Fiscus on the Williamson County School Board, and that person is Franklin resident Josh Brown, who also does top-level work for Pfizer. Williamson County District Four Commissioners Chad Story and Gregg Lawrence selected Brown against nine other candidates, according to The Tennessean. The remaining commissioners are scheduled to vote on whether to formally appoint Brown to the position at their October 11 meeting.

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Commentary: Real Estate Scams Are on the Rise as the Housing Market Remains Hot

When Jeff, a retired marketing consultant from Chicago, was closing on his home sale, he received a new set of instructions at the last minute on where to send several thousand dollars in closing expenses. At first blush, the email looked legit with an official-looking logo and professional language specifying the amount owed and itemized expenses. But one thing caught his eye: The email address looked strange. Just to be safe, he called his mortgage broker.

“Don’t do that!” his broker told him in an alarmed voice. It was a scam. If he hit “send,” his closing fees would go to a thief who had been monitoring his emails. “I was a keystroke away from losing thousands of dollars,” Jeff recalled.

As the housing market sizzles across the country – with nearly 6 million homes bought last year – scammers have been finding new ways to tap into this once-secure market. Real estate transactions still demand reams of paperwork and regulations involving lawyers, brokers, title insurance companies and banks, but the fact that much of this work now takes place online gives thieves countless opportunities to exploit vulnerable buyers. Last year, more than 11,000 homeowners were scammed out of more than $220 million in closing funds alone, according to the American Land and Title Association, a trade group that represents professionals who perform property transactions.

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Florida Business Owners Plead Guilty to Fraud in Worker Visa Scheme

Two business owners based in Florida pleaded guilty this week after their fraudulent scheme to hire illegal workers was uncovered.

“According to court documents, Educational World Inc. (Ed World), a visa processing company based in North Point; and Larisa Khariton, 73, and Jon Clark, 71, also of North Point, were indicted by a federal grand jury in Georgia on April 8,” the Department of Justice said in a press release. “The 36-count indictment also contained allegations against Regal Hospitality Solutions LLC (RHS), a Louisiana-based staffing company, and seven current and former RHS employees.”

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Firebrand Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Featured Speaker at Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner

First-term and firebrand Congresswoman from Georgia’s 14th District was the featured speaker at the Wilson County Republican Party Trump Day Dinner held Thursday at the Farm Bureau Exposition Center on Baddour Parkway in Lebanon with nearly 400 people in attendance.

It was the largest event of its kind for the Wilson County GOP and coincides with the first time that Republican Party primaries will be held in the county.

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