Tennessee House Approves Redistricting Proposals

The Tennessee State House approved their congressional and legislative redistricting proposals on Monday evening. The vote was 70-27, 70-26, and 70-26 on the house legislative district, senate legislative district, and congressional redistricting plans, respectively.

As has been a longstanding tradition in the Tennessee General Assembly, the House deferred to the the Senate’s plan on the new senate legislative district boundaries and the Senate is doing the same on the state house legislative district boundaries. The Senate approved the congressional and house legislative district proposals on January 20 and will vote on the house district boundaries on Wednesday, January 26, 2022.

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First Liberty Institute Amends Lawsuit, Sues for Religious Protections for All Members of the Navy

group of Navy members sitting on bleachers

The First Liberty Institute (FLI) on Monday amended their lawsuit against the Department of Defense and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to sue for religious protections for all members of the U.S. Navy.

The suit, which originally only included U.S. Navy SEALs, claims the Navy has been unwilling to grant religious exemptions to the coronavirus mandate handed down by President Joe Biden.

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Jackson, Tennessee Ranked as One of the Top U.S. Cities for Retirement

two people sitting next to a lake

AARP, the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization for Americans 50 and older, has ranked Jackson, Tennessee as one of the best places to live and retire in the country.

Jackson, located in Madison County, has a population of 68,205. According to AARP, Jackson made the list of best places to live and retire due to it’s “affordable and accepting” vibe. The organization also cites median home costs of $1,071 per month and the median home cost burden of 29.5% of income spent on housing. The city is also great for those who enjoy an outdoor lifestyle, with 74% of the population living near parks and recreational facilities.

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Commentary: Critical Race Promoters Are More Odious than Marxists

Of late, Fox News has been hosting a series called “The MisEducation of America” featuring gatherings of critical race theory’s critics—such as Carol Swain of Vanderbilt University—focusing on the danger of teaching racially divisive versions of American history. According to Swain, a black professor of political science at Vanderbilt, forcing kids to do things like play games called “privilege bingo” are “a prime example of how CRT, has seeped down to K-12 education, and it disturbs students.” Further: “All of these critical theories with Marxist roots are destroying American education, and parents have to save their children. But they also have to work to save other people’s children.”

Although the media and our universities may choose to ignore Swain’s complaint, she is actually understating the problem she and “MisEducation” host Pete Hegseth are featuring. I’m not sure I see “the Marxist roots” of the crusade against white people and their history in quite the same way Swain and Hegseth see it. We are indeed witnessing class warfare but not of the kind that Marx foresaw. It is a war being waged by white elites against the “basket of deplorables,” the predominantly white, working-class, and small-town Americans whom these elites hate and want to divest of human dignity. Similar conflicts are going on simultaneously in other Western countries, featuring equivalent social conflict.

In none of these cases do we find Marx’s appeals to the proletariat to rise up against those who control the means of production. In fact, we are witnessing exactly the opposite. An alliance of corporate capitalists, feminists, the LGBT lobby, and black race hustlers are directing their fire on the working class, which seems to be the least affected by the hegemonic ideology of wokeness. If anything, we are now looking at what Pedro Gonzalez has characterized as “the counterrevolution of the ruling class.” If Marxist theory, which supposedly is “seeping in” has any application, it would be as an analysis of how our elites are suppressing those they are stepping on and trying through increasingly vicious hate speech to isolate.

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Vanderbilt Recruits Children to Study Allergic Reaction to COVID Vaccine

Vanderbilt University Medical Center are actively recruiting children from 5-17 years old in order to study possible allergic reactions to the COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer (Pfizer-BioNTech) and Moderna.

“It’s important to study children, too,” said Elizabeth Phillips, MD, the principal investigator of the study, who is a professor of Medicine and Pharmacology and the John A. Oates Chair in Clinical Research at VUMC.

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Tennessee Department of Human Services Announces $122 Million Investment in ‘Family First Community Grants’

The Tennessee Department of Human Services (TDHS) announced Monday that $122 million in taxpayer money will be used to fund “Family First Community Grants.” The grants are available to “public and private organizations dedicated to helping families overcome economic, social and developmental vulnerabilities.”

“We’re here to ensure that all state residents have an opportunity to reach their full potential as contributing members of our community,” said TDHS Commissioner Clarence H. Carter. “For far too long government programs have focused on outputs, rather than the outcomes of the lives of those served. We aim to change the way vulnerable Tennesseans are served by partnering with public and private organizations who recognize public support should be a mile marker in a life’s journey, not a destination unto itself.”

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16 Republican AGs Seek Federal Pressure on China, Mexico over Fentanyl Crisis

Antony Blinken

Sixteen Republican state attorneys general are calling on Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken to take action against China and Mexico for their role in creating a fentanyl crisis in the U.S.

“China’s complete unwillingness to police the production and distribution of fentanyl precursors and Mexico’s subsequent failure to control illegal manufacturing of fentanyl using those precursors,” the attorneys general argue, poses a daily threat to Americans.

West Virginia and Arizona are leading the effort. Joining them are the attorneys general of Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, South Carolina, South Dakota and Texas. They say they’ve witnessed an “extraordinary tide of senseless death from fentanyl” in their states.

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University Bets on Bitcoin as Nationwide Enrollment Dips

San Diego State University is now accepting donations in the form of Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum.

An anonymous donor has sent the school approximately $25,000 worth of Bitcoin, according to the SDSU NewsCenter.

“The SDSU auxiliary will keep almost all of the contribution in the form of Bitcoin instead of immediately converting it all to cash as many other universities have done,” the outlet reported.

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Crypto Market Sees $130 Billion Sell-off over Last 24 Hours

The cryptocurrency market lost nearly $130 billion in value over the last 24 hours as major digital coins continue their extended sell-off, multiple sources reported.

Bitcoin dropped 4.81% to $33,693.63 over the last 24 hours while Ethereum slid 9.41% to $2,206.22, according to Coinbase. Both assets fell to their lowest level since July 2021, and each has lost roughly 50% of its highest value.

Cryptocurrencies have trended similarly to stocks, which have seen a sell-off since the start of 2022. Investors have dumped their assets, especially technology stocks, in preparation for tighter monetary policies from the Federal Reserve, including interest rate hikes and halting of the central bank’s asset purchasing stimulus program.

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Admissions Counselor Admits to Anti-Republican Bias When ‘Reviewing College Applications’

A Clemson University admissions counselor recently took to Snapchat to express her frustration with Republican students applying to the college.

Monica Rozman, a Clemson University undergraduate admissions counselor, posted an announcement to her personal Snapchat stating, “no one cares if you’re Republican.”

Campus Reform obtained a screenshot of the post.

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After Defund the Police Changes Local Sex Offender Policies, Students Feel ‘Compromised’

With cops in Austin, Texas, not supervising “hundreds of sex offender cases” due to Defund the Police budget cuts, Campus Reform spoke with students at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin) about their safety.

“The situation in the city of Austin has been critical for some time ever since the city of Austin council decided to defund the police unanimously in the summer of 2020, and reduce their police budget by one-third,” sophomore Carter Moxley said.

Moxley also discussed UT Austin President Jay Hartzell’s decision last November to “increase [University of Texas Police Department] patrol in the west campus area and develop additional options to enhance safety for [the] students” after a violent incident near campus.

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Commentary: Woke Is Broke and Costing Democrats

We are in the first month of 2022, and, from every sign, it appears my Democratic friends are determined to stick to their guns when it comes to both their agenda and how they intend to sell it. In other words, America has not heard the last of the Woke Police.

The 2021 elections, especially in Virginia, could have served as a wake-up call for Democrats. When Terry McAuliffe announced he thought parents should not be telling schools what to teach, the voters spoke loudly and clearly that they felt differently. Attempts to make Republican Glenn Youngkin into the Old Dominion’s version of Donald Trump fell flat as he scored a solid victory.

You might think that after the events of 2021, Democrats would be inclined to engage in some self-reflection. You would be wrong. How do we account for the largest increase in the inflation rate in a generation? President Biden has decided Sen. Elizabeth Warren has it right. Defying logic, gravity, and common sense, they have placed the blame on “meat conglomerates.” Why the cost of a steak would cause spikes in the cost of so many other items, including gasoline, is a carefully guarded secret. Why don’t Democrats in a position of leadership make clear they will not submit to viewpoints held by such a small percentage of the public?

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Gingrich Says January 6 Commission Members Could Face Jail Time if GOP Retakes House

Former GOP House Speaker Newt Gingrich is warning of possible jail time for Jan. 6 committee members should Republicans reclaim the House majority during the upcoming midterm election.

“You’re gonna have a Republican majority in the House, a Republican majority in the Senate. And all these people who’ve been so tough and so mean and so nasty are going to be delivered subpoenas for every document, every conversation, every tweet, every email,” Gingrich told Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo on Sunday.

“I think when you have a Republican Congress, this is all going to come crashing down. The wolves are gonna find out they’re now sheep, and they’re the ones who are, in fact, I think, going to face a real risk of going to jail for the kind of laws that they’re breaking,” said Gingrich, though he did not specify which laws he believes have been broken.

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Supreme Court to Hear Case of Washington High School Football Coach Fired for Praying

The U.S. Supreme Court has announced it will hear oral arguments later this year in the case of a high school football coach in Washington state who was fired for praying after games.

The case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School Board, involves Joe Kennedy who coached the football team at Bremerton High School from 2008 to 2015.

The issue began after Kennedy was hired when he would take a knee on the field after games to engage in personal prayer.

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Denver Elementary School to Hold BLM Event Teaching Kindergarteners, First Graders to Disrupt the ‘Nuclear Family,’ Recognize ‘Trans-Antagonistic Violence’

sign that says "families of color playground night Wed. 12/8 4:10 p.m.

A school district in Denver, Colorado, plans to host a Black Lives Matter “Week of Action,” according to a report from Parents Defending Education.

Centennial Elementary School (CES) in Denver Public Schools (DPS) announced its plans to participate in the “Black Lives Matter (BLM) at School Week of Action” from Jan. 31 – Feb. 4, according to a report from Parents Defending Education (PDE). The school said it will instruct kindergarteners and first graders to be “transgender affirming” by “recognizing trans-antagonistic violence” and “queer affirming” so “heteronormative thinking no longer exists.”

Most kindergarteners and first graders are five, six and seven years old, according to PDE.

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Chinese Tech Firm Takes Over, Shuts Down World Leader’s Personal Social Media Account

WeChat social media app open on phone

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has had his personal account on Chinese-owned social messaging service WeChat taken over by a Chinese tech company and shut down Monday, Reuters reported.

Fuzhou 985 Technology, a China-based technology firm, managed to take control of Morrison’s WeChat account, which currently has 76,000 followers, several months ago, Reuters reported. Morrison reportedly used the account to communicate with Australians of Chinese origin.

Fuzhou rebranded the account as “Australian Chinese New Life” and redirected users visiting the account to Fuzhou’s website, according to a CNN translation.

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‘1619 Project’ Author Nikole Hannah-Jones Brags About Tricking Audience into Thinking MLK Quotes Were Her Words

Nikole Hannah-Jones

The Union League Club of Chicago, a highly selective private civic and social club in the windy city, invited Nikole Hannah-Jones to give a keynote speech in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. 

Jones, a professor at Howard University, is notable for having authored the New York Times’ 1619 Project, a long-form journalistic work that falsely argues America’s true foundation is in the institution of slavery.

Prior to Jones’ speech, a series of emails were leaked in which club members voiced their opposition to hosting Jones at their club. In one email Brian Daley, a Public Affairs Committee member for the club, pointed out that Jones’ 1619 Project had been criticized by historians and that the New York Times issued a  “humiliating update” following widespread criticism of her work, according to reporting by Chicago City Wire.

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Small Business Administration Spends $14.8 Million in Questionable Costs for Underutilized Small Business Portal

U.S Small Business Administration

This week’s Golden Horseshoe is awarded to the Small Business Administration for lax oversight of a $25 million grant for the creation of a COVID-19 relief small business portal that ran up $14.8 million in questionable costs for an underutilized hub, according to a report by the agency’s Office of Inspector General.

The SBA’s Office of Entrepreneurial Development (OED) received $25 million through the CARES Act to create a portal to help small businesses during the pandemic. An $18.6 million grant was awarded for the Resource Partner Training Portal program, but the intended results were not achieved. A combination of a failed marketing strategy to let small businesses know of the portal’s existence and unsupported or unallowable invoices led the inspector general to question $14.8 million in costs.

“SBA did not did not ensure the grant recipient developed and implemented an effective marketing and outreach strategy to ensure the hub successfully achieved the legislative purpose of the CARES Act,” Inspector General Hannibal “Mike” Ware stated in the report.

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Professor Pushes Students at Virtual ‘Die-In’ to Use ‘Radical Activist Tactics’ for Stricter COVID Policies

KSU Covid Safety Coalition, a student-led organization at Kent State University, held a virtual “die-in” protest Tuesday to pressure the school administration to adopt stricter COVID-19 guidelines.

The virtual protest occurred over Microsoft Teams and featured students and faculty voicing their opinions on the university’s response to the pandemic.

Natalia Cruz, a third-year student at Kent State, spoke first about the “sorry excuse of a response and plan in regards to the COVID 19 pandemic.”

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JC Bowman Commentary: Government Needs Oversight and Transparency

It is a disturbing trend to hire outside consultants or independent contractors, with little direct oversight, to perform government jobs, whether nationally or statewide. The running joke is “if you have an out-of-state license plate on your car and drive by slowly at the Tennessee Department of Education, they will throw a contract in your car, and you too can be an education consultant.” Now that is probably not very accurate or fair, but then again, I have a Tennessee tag on my car and I have been known to drive a little fast.

It is likely that the majority of consultants and contractors follow our state laws and maintain the necessary integrity. However, all Tennesseans should be somewhat concerned by a contracting process if it has little or no accountability. We must also do a better job of tracking performance data. Especially when we are using tax dollars in Tennessee to contract with people outside the state. Oversight is critical to making sure taxpayers are getting what they are paying for.

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U.S. Suspends Over 40 International Flights from Chinese Airlines over COVID Concerns

On Friday, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it would be suspending at least 44 flights bound for China and operated by Chinese airlines over the course of the next few months.

CNN reports that the ban will last from late January to the end of March. The airlines affected are Air China, China Eastern Airlines, China Southern Airlines, and Xiamen Airlines. The ban is a response to a previous similar ban on flights from China by American airline companies. China’s Civil Aviation Administration justified this ban by claiming that such flights violated a newly-enacted “circuit breaker” rule which bans any flight for at least two weeks if five or more passengers on the plane test positive for the Chinese coronavirus.

The American companies affected by China’s ban include American Airlines, United Airlines, and Delta Airlines. Previous reporting has determined that it is nearly impossible to find any remaining flights between China and the United States due to the two governments’ back-and-forth bans.

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U.N. Adopts Resolution Defining Holocaust Denial, Iran Disassociates from the Process

The United Nations General Assembly has agreed on a definition of Holocaust denial, and moved to urge social media companies to “take active measures” to combat antisemitism.

“The General Assembly is sending a strong and unambiguous message against the denial or the distortion of these historical facts. Ignoring historical facts increases the risk that they will be repeated,” Germany’s U.N. Ambassador Antje Leendertse said Thursday.

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Republican Lawmakers Respond to Fundraising Efforts to Resettle Up to 1400 Afghan Refugees in Minnesota

Minnesota Republican lawmakers criticized the new Afghan refugee resettlement programs by the Minneapolis-based social welfare group Alight, formerly known as the American Refugee Committee, which was announced at a Saturday press conference by former Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton and Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), where the two asked for donations to support the effort.

“My hope is that we have improved the process, learning from our failings of the past. The conflict in Afghanistan was our nation’s longest,” said State Representative Jeremy Munson (R-Lake Crystal) to The Minnesota Sun.

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Trump’s Entertainment Venture Outperforming All Similar Companies: REPORT

Donald Trump sitting at desk

Former President Donald Trump’s entertainment venture is currently outperforming all other special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs), according to a recent market report.

Digital World Acquisition Corp (DWAC), the SPAC used to take Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) public, is outperforming all other SPACs, according to a market analysis by SPAC Research reported by Reuters. The company’s shares ended trading at $73.12 on Friday, giving the company a valuation of roughly $13 billion, according to Reuters.

A SPAC is a company that acquires private companies and lists them publicly on a stock exchange without the private company engaging in an initial public offering (IPO). In this case, Trump used DWAC to take his company public in order to raise funding for his social media venture, TRUTH Social, which he has billed as an alternative to major tech platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

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Tommy Hicks, Jr. Commentary: Biden Goes Down to Georgia and Lies About Election Integrity

Joe Biden went down to Georgia recently and once again peddled lies as he desperately tries to salvage his stalled agenda. In a divisive speech in Atlanta, Biden painted an apocalyptic picture of the state of elections in America. Biden claimed voting laws were under assault. He said democracy itself was under attack. In other words, Biden showed just how far he and Democrats are willing to go in their relentless pursuit for raw power.

Let’s be clear – almost everything Biden said in Atlanta was a lie. Nothing about Americans’ right to vote is in jeopardy. The only thing in jeopardy is Biden’s political agenda. That’s why Biden wants to upend longstanding Senate procedure and force a federal takeover of state and local elections. Biden knows Americans are rejecting his failed policies, and so he wants change the rules so he can ram his radical agenda through anyway. It’s sadly predictable that Biden is so obsessed with seizing power for himself. Just as bad is that he is willing to lie and manufacture fake hysteria to do it.

Here are the facts. Far from being difficult, voting in America has never been easier. The 2020 elections saw the highest voter turnout in more than a century. And more Americans cast ballots in 2020 than ever before, period, full stop. Additionally, polling shows Americans overwhelmingly support basic ballot security safeguards that Biden wants to eviscerate with his federal power grabs. For example, 75% of Americans – including 69% of Black voters and 60% of Democrats – support voter ID. Even more say they support getting rid of ballot harvesting. Joe Biden doesn’t care.

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Florida School Boards Association Denies Bias, Teams Up with ‘Equality Florida’ to Promote LGBT Policies in Classroom

Group of kids playing with a rainbow parachute cloth in a field

As debates rage across the country over gender issues in schools, Florida school officials with the Florida School Board Association (FSBA) have teamed up with a left-wing progressive group to develop policies that determine how controversial issues will be addressed in the classroom.

Often times these discussions take place outside of official school meetings but involve elected officials.

The group, Equality Florida, is a left-wing political advocacy group that advocates for civil rights and protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBQT+) residents in Florida. The group has successfully developed a network of connections among school officials that facilitates the promotion of their views in school operations.

One of the methods used by Equality Florida to influence policy at schools is the “All Together Now Conference” (ATN). Equality Florida states that ATN provides “dynamic programming that includes sessions such as a superintendent’s roundtable discussion, family acceptance panels, GSA workshops, and legal expert testimonials.”

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Florida Jobs Report Shows Declining Unemployment, Indicators of Economic Growth

Woman checking out a business

A jobs report from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) shows Florida is continuing to lead the county in job creation and lower unemployment rates. Florida’s unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent in December 2021 – down 0.1 percent from November 2021.

The report indicates good news for Florida’s economy with Florida gaining 479,300 jobs throughout the entirety of 2021, which is an increase of 5.6 percent. The national jobs creation average during the same time period was 4.5 percent.

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Seven School Boards Sue Over Youngkin Mask-Optional Order; Sen. Petersen Threatens Legislative Action if Schools Don’t Find Mandate Off-Ramp

Seven school districts are suing Governor Glenn Youngkin over Executive Order Two, which requires schools to allow parents to opt children out of mask mandates. The lawsuit challenges Youngkin’s authority over school boards and his ability to override Senate Bill 1303, which requires schools to follow CDC guidelines.

“At issue is whether locally-elected school boards have the exclusive authority and responsibility conferred upon them by Article VIII, Section 7 of the Constitution of Virginia over supervision of the public schools in their respective communities, or whether an executive order can unilaterally override that constitutional authority. Also at issue is whether a governor can, through executive order, without legislative action by the Virginia General Assembly, reverse a lawfully-adopted statute,” Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) said in a Monday press release.

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New Congressional Map Passes Pennsylvania Senate; Wolf’s Veto Anticipated

A proposed congressional map passed by the Pennsylvania House of Representatives earlier this month passed the state Senate unchanged on Monday, with Republicans in favor and Democrats opposed.

In urging colleagues to approve the redistricting plan, Senate State Government Committee Majority Chairman David Argall (R-Mahanoy City) emphasized that the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court has insisted on enactment of a new map by January 30. The court has indicated it will select a map if Gov. Tom Wolf (D) does not sign one by that date. 

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Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin Keeps Promises, Encourages Parents to Trust the Legal Process on Mask Mandate Pushback in Fredericks Interview

Glenn Youngkin

Live from Virginia Monday morning on The John Fredericks Show –  weekdays on WNTW AM 820/ FM 92.7 – Richmond, WJFN FM 100.5 – Central Virginia, WMPH AM 1010 / FM 100.1 / FM 96.9 (7-9 PM) Hampton Roads, WBRG AM 1050 / FM 105.1 – Lynchburg/Roanoke and Weekdays 6-10 am and 24/7 Stream –  host Fredericks welcomed Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin to the show to weigh in on the progress of overturning mask mandates for school children and encouraging parents to trust the legal process.

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Buckhead Announces New Political Action Committee in Effort to Separate from Atlanta

BUCKHEAD, Georgia — Buckhead City Committee CEO Bill White announced Monday that his group has a new Political Action Committee (PAC), effective February 1. White announced the news at a fundraiser at Buckhead’s Bistro Niko restaurant. Monday night’s fundraiser had a sell-out crowd. Almost 300 people attended, White said. The event had a minimum ticket donation requirement of $250 per person.

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Minnesota to Release Findings on Clean Fuel Standard Discussions in February

Minnesota state officials are preparing to release a new environmental initiative.

Officials will release a white paper in February announcing the state’s new clean fuel standard.

The paper will highlight common themes of the responses the Minnesota Department of Agriculture and the Minnesota Department of Transportation have heard through meeting with stakeholders and the general public. The most recent meeting, the last in a series that began in December, was held Thursday.

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Georgia Senate Rejects Constitutional Amendment Banning Noncitizen Voting

The Georgia Senate rejected a measure Monday that could have changed the state constitution to clarify only U.S. citizens can vote in the state.

Senate Resolution 363 would place a constitutional amendment on an election ballot for voter approval. The resolution, however, did not receive the required approval of two-thirds of the Senate on Monday.

“Voting is sacred, and citizenship should matter,” said Sen. Butch Miller, R-Gainesville, one of the sponsors of the bill.

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As Fentanyl Distribution Rises, AG Moody Calls on Biden Administration to Enforce Existing Immigration Laws

Ashley Moody

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody is calling on President Joe Biden and the leaders of the House and Senate to “stop posturing” and acknowledge the magnitude of the crisis at the southwest border, which she says is enabling the illicit importation of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, fueling a drug crisis in America.

More than 21 Floridians die every day from accidental opioid overdoses, Moody said.

“Biden’s lax border policy is an open invitation to dangerous criminals, human traffickers and drug traffickers to enter the United States – creating a crisis at the Southern Border like we have never seen,” Moody, who last year sued the Biden administration over reinstating an Obama-era catch and release program, said. “Because Biden is not requiring those crossing the border to go through the legally mandated channels, they are coming into our country without being properly processed.

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Wisconsin Republican Party Blasted Biden Administration as Vice President Kamala Harris Visited Milwaukee

The Republican Party of Wisconsin slammed the Biden Administration as Vice President Kamala Harris visits Milwaukee.

Harris will promote the bipartisan infrastructure bill, which passed Congress last year and was signed by President Joe Biden.

The visit from the vice president comes as Biden’s approval numbers have continued to plummet, potentially endangering Democratic incumbent lawmakers in Wisconsin and across the country.

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Arizona Sues Treasury Department over Federal Money Being Used for Schools Without Mask Rules

Arizona GOP Gov. Doug Ducey is suing the Biden administration over its demand that the state stop sending millions in federal COVID-19 relief money on schools without mask requirements or that close due to virus outbreaks.

The lawsuit filed Friday in federal court in Phoenix follows the Treasury Department demanding last week that Ducey either restructure the $163 million program to eliminate restrictions the agency says undermine public health recommendations or face a demand for repayment, according to the Associated Press.

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Governor Whitmer Touts ‘Delivering for Older Michiganders,’ Despite Newly-Released Report on Nursing Home Deaths

Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer on Saturday touted her record for “delivering for older Michiganders,” ahead of her State of the State address.

Seemingly, the governor ignored a recent report that demonstrated thousands of additional deaths in nursing homes and other long-term care facilities that were not reported by her administration’s Department of Health and Human Services.

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Over a Hundred Conservative Groups Call on U.S. Education Secretary to Resign over Infamous Letter Equating Concerned Parents to ‘Domestic Terrorists’

National School Boards Association meeting

Over 100 conservative groups and leaders are calling on Education Secretary Miquel Cardona to resign over allegations that he collaborated with the National School Boards Association (NSBA) to draft the infamous letter equating parents to domestic terrorists.

The Conservative Action Project (CAP), along with 120 conservative groups and leaders, released a letter Monday calling on Cardona to resign immediately, following reports that he worked with the NSBA and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to silence parents from speaking out about their concerns at America’s public schools, citing “threats” they posed to school boards.

School boards have been battlegrounds for culture wars over mask rules, COVID-19 vaccinations, schools reopening, Critical Race Theory (CRT), gender ideology and remote learning. The Monday letter also calls on Congress to further investigate the NSBA letter “to ensure any other Biden administration officials who were inappropriately involved are held accountable.”

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Loudoun County Schools Respond After Students Refuse to Wear Masks

group of students walking into school

After a large group of students at Woodgrove High School, part of Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), decided to defy the school’s mask mandate Monday, LCPS has responded. 

“This morning 30 Woodgrove students (out of a student body of 1,585) refused to wear a mask. They were asked to move to the auditorium where they could use the Schoology platform to continue their studies,” Wayde B. Byard, LCPS’ Public Information Officer, told The Virginia Star by email. “Teachers dropped periodically in to help students with their work. A lunch period and bathroom breaks were arranged. Several students opted to go home and were allowed to do so.”

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Tennessee Representative Files Legislation Allowing Certain Tennesseans to Carry ‘Any Firearms’

Tennessee Rep. Rusty Grills

A Tennessee lawmaker has filed a bill that would allow certain Tennesseans to carry rifles or shotguns, not just handguns.

Representative Rusty Grills (R-Newbern-HD77) has filed a bill that “renames enhanced and concealed handgun carry permits as enhanced and concealed firearm carry permits and authorizes a permit holder to carry any firearms, rather than handguns, that the permit holder legally owns or possesses; expands the circumstances in which a permit holder may carry a firearm.”

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