Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Proclaiming Justice to the Nation’s Laurie Cardoza-Moore in the studio to enunciate their continuing mission against critical race theory and anti-semitic K5 curriculum.
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Democratic Reps. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ilhan Omar of Minnesota participated in events with Muslim-American advocacy groups that have called for Aafia Siddiqui’s release from a Texas prison.
The gunman who took hostages inside a Texas synagogue on Tuesday demanded the release of Siddiqui, who has often been referred to in the counterterrorism world as “Lady al-Qaeda.” Siddiqui was convicted in 2010 of attempting to murder U.S. nationals, according to the FBI.
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The Senate late Thursday rejected a Democratic effort to alter the filibuster in order to pass their long-sought voting bills over unanimous Republican opposition, capping one of the most consequential days in the history of the chamber.
The vote failed 48-52 after Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema voted as they said they would for months, joining a unanimous Republican caucus in opposition and denying their party the necessary support for the change to take effect. The change, had it been adopted, would have established a “talking filibuster” pertaining to the voting bills only, allowing any senator to speak for or against them for as long as they wanted but lowering the 60-vote threshold for passage to a simple majority.
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The House Jan. 6 select committee is asking former President Trump’s daughter and senior Trump White House adviser Ivanka Trump to voluntary cooperate with its probe, committee Chairman Rep. Bennie Thompson said Thursday.
The committee announced its plans in a statement following remarks from Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, according to CNN.
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Since March 2021, when Gov. Greg Abbott launched Operation Lone Star (OLS), Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) state troopers have been working around the clock to help defend the southern border. Nine months later, its chief reports a record for state interdiction efforts.
Since OLS began, state troopers have arrested more than 10,000 illegal immigrants, including smugglers and drug traffickers, Texas DPS Director Steve McCraw said Wednesday at a Texas Public Policy Foundation event in Austin. They’ve seized over 5 tons of methamphetamine, over $17 million in cash, and enough fentanyl to kill over 260 million people.
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Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), and 3M Company announced this week the investment of approximately $470 million to expand manufacturing operations in East Tennessee. 3M’s expansion is expected to add around 600 new jobs by 2025.
Governor Lee said, “3M’s decision to expand in Tennessee is a testament to our state’s pro-business climate and skilled workforce. The creation of nearly 600 new jobs in Anderson County will positively impact this community for years to come, and we thank 3M for their investment in our state.”
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton to the newsmakers line to discuss top priorities and redistricting.
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I attended RomaDrama Live! last year initially because several of the artists I had featured in my column were part of the entertainment. And of course, it was fun to see and meet the popular actors of favorite romance dramas and Hallmark movies. But what I wasn’t expecting was for one of the actors to be a genuinely talented country music singer/songwriter.
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As he documents the role of Hillary Clinton’s campaign in generating false allegations of Trump-Russia collusion, Special Counsel John Durham has also previewed a challenge to the FBI’s claims about how and why its counterintelligence investigation of the Trump campaign began. At stake is the completeness of the official reckoning within the U.S. government over the Russiagate scandal – and whether there will be an accounting commensurate with the offense: the abuse of the nation’s highest law enforcement and intelligence powers to damage an opposition presidential candidate turned president, at the behest of his opponent from the governing party he defeated.
The drama is playing out against the clashing approaches of the two Justice Department officials tasked with scrutinizing the Russia probe’s origins and unearthing any misconduct: Durham, the Sphinx-like prosecutor with a reputation for toughness whose work continues; and Michael Horowitz, the Department of Justice inspector general, whose December 2019 report faulted the FBI’s handling of the Russia probe but nonetheless concluded that it was launched in good faith.
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The NCAA changed its policy on transgender athlete participation Wednesday as concern mounted over swimmer Lia Thomas, a biological male, identifying as a woman and immediately dominating the sport.
Transgender athletes will need to show testosterone levels within their sport’s approved range four weeks before championship selections, according to the new rules. They will need to document their testosterone levels at the beginning of the season as well as four weeks before championship selections in the coming academic year.
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The Arizona Legislature began its 2022 session on Jan. 10, and legislators are dropping lots of bills related to COVID-19, in part due to a Maricopa County Superior Court judge striking down much of that legislation last year. Recently appointed State Rep. Neil Carter (R-Casa Grande) introduced HB 2452, which would make it illegal to discriminate against any person based on their vaccination status in employment, housing, or public accommodations.
“At this time when our nation is facing a critical hiring and employee shortage, it doesn’t make sense to further restrict the labor market through imposition of mandatory medical procedures as a condition of employment,” he said in a statement. “Moreover, the idea that a mandatory medical procedure should be a requirement of continued employment is offensive to freedom of conscience, economic security, and medical integrity. No person should be forced to choose between putting food on the table and the integrity of his or her body.”
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Following an election integrity hearing in Wisconsin, Wednesday, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos reportedly sent his Chief of Staff into the office of Rep. Timothy Ramthun (R-Campbellsport) to tell him that all of his full-time staff had been reassigned.
For many months, Ramthun has been gathering hard evidence of election irregularities and crimes, including the installation of over 500 drop boxes throughout the state, which a Wisconsin judge last week ruled were illegal.
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Governor Tony Evers (D) joined the push to pass Senate Bill 75, to repeal Wisconsin’s 172 year old abortion ban, which will eliminate certain abortion prohibitions and felony charges associated with obtaining an abortion under the old law. The abortion ban law has been unable to be enforced due to the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, but if that court decision were to be overturned, the law would have taken effect.
The bill reads, “This bill repeals a statute relating to abortion that has been held unenforceable by a federal court. Under that statute, any person, other than the mother, who intentionally destroys the life of an unborn child is guilty of a Class H felony.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced a COVID action plan aimed at expanding healthcare facilities’ ability to respond to COVID-19 and coping with test shortages. The plan also includes COVID-19 vaccine outreach. Youngkin announced the plan during a stop in Roanoke.
“As your governor, I will not mandate the vaccine,” Youngkin said according to The Roanoke Times. “But as your neighbor and as your friend, I am strongly encouraging you to please get it.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin is changing the focus of the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, created by former Governor Ralph Northam in the wake of his 2019 blackface scandal. Youngkin issued his tenth executive order Wednesday and announced his desire for the General Assembly to change the office name to Diversity, Opportunity, and Inclusion Office. He also named former Heritage Foundation official Angela Sailor to head the office, moves that Democrats saw as direct efforts to gut the office of its core purpose.
“The people of Virginia elected the most diverse leadership in the Commonwealth’s history. Virginia is big enough for the hopes and dreams of a diverse people. Angela Sailor’s experience in government, nonprofits and the private sector will guide us as we ensure that the government is working for all Virginians across our diverse Commonwealth, especially when it comes to economic opportunity for all Virginians,” Youngkin said in a press release.
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Some of Virginia’s public universities have rescinded their vaccine mandates after Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) took office this week and signed a flurry of executive orders on his first day.
One of those orders banned vaccine mandates by employers.
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Earlier this week, Florida Senate President Wilton Simpson (R-FL-10) indicated he would support a constitutional carry bill if the Senate were to take up that kind of legislation. Historically, Florida Republicans have been hesitant to take up expanding gun rights during the legislative session.
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The Minnesota Democrat Farmer Labor (DFL) Party released a statement commemorating President Joe Biden’s first year in office, saying that Minnesotans are better off today than they were last year.
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Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13), who is running for U.S. Senate, moved further leftward, opting to attack moderate Senators Krysten Sinema (D-AZ) and Joe Manchin (D-WV) for their support of the filibuster.
The two Democrats chose to stand up to their party, who attempted to gut the 60-vote threshold required for certain pieces of legislation.
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Pennsylvania State Sen. Ryan Aument (R-Lititz) announced yesterday he has introduced a bill to correct errors in the state’s voter record-keeping system.
In Dec. 2019, a report by Democratic then-Auditor General Eugene DePasquale detailed a host of problems with that system, known as the Statewide Uniform Registry of Electors (SURE). Within that registry, which is maintained by the Pennsylvania Department of State, DePasquale and his staff discovered 24,408 cases of the same driver’s license (DL) number being indicated on multiple voter records. They also found 2,991 voter records containing information matching that on state Department of Health deceased files.
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Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), in a written column, argued that the border and immigration policies of President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have allowed human trafficking.
Because of their decision to end the construction of the border wall and other Trump-era policies, the Tennessee senator wrote that the duo has made it easier for criminals.
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A United States appellate court has overturned a lower court’s ruling in the case of. a Georgia sheriff.
Butts County Sheriff Gary Long in 2018 hung signs in the yards of the county’s 57 registered sex offenders before Halloween, warning parents not to allow their children to trick-or-treat at those homes.
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An Ohio state senator wants to lower the state’s gasoline tax to pre-2019 levels for the next five years, but a panel of state economists believe the plan is a bad idea.
Sen. Stephen Huffman, R-Tipp City, believes Ohioans could use the break, especially when the federal government has committed to giving the state 10 times more revenue over the same time span than the gas tax traditionally generates.
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Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue on Thursday proposed creating what he called an Election Law Enforcement Division that would investigate alleged violations of the state’s election laws. Perdue, in a statement, said Election Law Enforcement Division officers would have the authority to make arrests.
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Representative Bryan Steil (R-WI-01) responded to President Joe Biden’s press conference, calling out President Joe Biden for questioning the integrity of future elections. Steil said in a press release to The Wisconsin Daily Star, “For over a year, Democrats have been saying anyone who questions election integrity is paramount to treason.”
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Fulton County Commissioners discussed Wednesday whether to extend a contract to the controversial Happy Faces staffing firm, but the discussion irked Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr. to such an extent he erupted in a fit of anger. And the longer Arrington spoke the louder and the more antagonized he got — especially when he talked about former President Donald Trump.
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Michigan Senator Wayne Schmidt (R-Traverse City) on Wednesday introduced a bill with the goal of easing the financial burden placed on first responders throughout the state.
Senate Bill 821 amends a current law to allow local governments to purchase real or personal property, like fire trucks or ambulances, under an installment purchase agreement.
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Attorneys for the federal government announced they are withdrawing an appeal in the State of Florida’s fight against the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s conditional sailing order. The back-and-forth fight between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) administration and the CDC ends.
Florida and the federal government have been in a legal battle since last summer when the CDC imposed their conditional sailing order on cruise lines. According to the order, cruise ships were required to complete four phases of certification before returning to operation, including vaccination status.
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The Tennessee Senate passed their congressional redistricting plan, which splits up Nashville amongst three congressional districts as well as the senate legislative redistricting plan. Both plans passed the Tennessee Senate by a vote of 26-5.
Amendments were added to both plans, SB0781 and SB0780, providing more detail on the district lines.
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On Wednesday, the national pro-life group Susan B. Anthony List released the latest ratings for its National Pro-Life Scorecard. According to the organization, the national scorecard is “a tool for holding members of Congress accountable for their legislative records on abortion and highlighting leadership in the fight to protect unborn children and their mothers.”
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Along with 15 other governors on Wednesday, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called on President Joe Biden to work with states as partners and provide states with maximum flexibility to determine the best use of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funds.
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Nashville Metro Council met on Tuesday and took several actions. Metro Council passed their own redistricting plans for council and school board, in addition to passing a resolution urging the General Assembly to reject the proposed congressional redistricting plans that are heading to the House and Senate floors and continuing the legislative process on license plate readers.
BL2021-1052, an ordinance on third reading, is “An ordinance approving and adopting a plan for redistricting the Councilmanic Districts of The Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County and revising the school districts pursuant to Article 18, Section 18.06 of the Metropolitan Charter.” The list of the new boundaries and the maps were posted on the bill’s website.
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Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport announced this week she would not seek reelection in 2022. This follows backlash she received from a ProRepublica article on her court practices published in October 2021, and new legislation recently filed for consideration of her removal.
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WASHINGTON — Last week while reading the Wall Street Journal I came across an op-ed piece that for a moment led me to believe that the sober and serious Journal was opening a comics section. Why not? If the Journal executes “the funnies” as competently as it covers serious news, I can see it earning a Pulitzer Prize for its comics page. It would be a first for the Pulitzer Prize committee, but, well, in this day and age there is a first time for almost everything. The piece I have in mind was written by Douglas Schoen and Andrew Stein, two Democratic insiders, and they were intent on calling for a voice from the past to return to politics. After 30 years in which she had run up massive disapproval ratings — and only one victory — Schoen and Stein were laying out the intricacies of how Hillary could get the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024. It appeared they were serious.
They mentioned President Biden’s historically low approval ratings, 33 percent, down from 36 percent in November, and by the way Vice President Kamala Harris is not doing so well either. Schoen and Stein cited the president’s age. He is 79 now. He will be 81 if he makes it to 2024, and the Democrats most likely will have lost both the House of Representatives and the Senate by the time Biden seeks reelection. All that might grant Biden the nomination in 2024 is that no one else will want it except possibly Hillary. Schoen and Stein suggest she is plotting her course. Remember after Hillary’s defeat to Donald Trump back in 2016 she said she was “done with being a candidate.” She was ready to retire, but she has yet to retire. Richard Nixon unveiled a New Nixon in 1968 and won. Could Hillary be developing a New Hillary now?
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On Tuesday, Tennessee Senator Bill Hagerty (R-TN) applauded efforts by Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei to increase prison sentences for “coyote” human smugglers.
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U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw this month said that Tennessee Department of Health (TDOH) Commissioner Lisa Piercey and TDOH Chief Medical Officer Tim Jones have qualified immunity against claims from former TDOH official Michelle Fiscus. Qualified immunity protects a government official from lawsuits alleging that the official violated a plaintiff’s rights.
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On Wednesday in a press release, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced he will deliver his fourth State of the State address to the General Assembly and fellow Tennesseans on Monday, January 31 at 6 p.m. CT. The joint session will take place in the House Chamber of the Tennessee State Capitol.
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Knox County Schools (KCS) will close for the remainder of the week due to illness-related staffing shortages, according to a release from the district.
The closure, likely connected to the rise in coronavirus cases in the state, will grant students and staff members two days off, in addition to the weekend.
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Nashville Mayor John Cooper has announced additional funds are going to Nashville’s communities to “support grassroots violence reduction efforts” through his Community Safety Partnership program.
In a press release, Mayor Cooper said: “Community safety requires a community-wide effort,” Mayor Cooper said. “This work takes all of us, supporting one another and learning from each other. And it takes Metro government, championing that response and investing in the strategies that work best for our neighborhoods.”
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A woman from Sparta, Tennessee pled guilty to “Concealment of Material Support and Resources Intended to be Provided to a Foreign Terrorist Organization,” U.S. Attorney Mark H. Wildasin for the Middle District of Tennessee announced in a Tuesday statement. Georgianna A.M. Giampietro was indicted by a federal grand jury in August of 2019 after she was charged with “attempting to provide material support to a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization.”
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A bill named after a high-profile murder defendant, who was later acquitted, has been introduced in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Rep. Bruce Griffey (R-District-75) announced via press release Wednesday that he has introduced what he calls “Kyle’s Law,” named after Kyle Rittenhouse.
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Wesley Somers of Hendersonville, was supposed to be sentenced Tuesday in federal court for his role in the Nashville courthouse fire but the sentencing was delayed for a second time, to February 22, 2022.
It was previously reported that Somers’ original sentencing date was December 1st, 2021, and had been moved to January 18th, 2022. The reasons for the second postponement to February 22, 2022 are now clear.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Naitonal Political Editor for The Tennessee Star Report, Neil W. McCabe live from Washington, D.C. to weigh in on Voting Rights Act progress and the filibuster vote.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Chairperson Lisa O’Dell of Nashville SCORE to the newmakers line to talk about the mission and history of helping entreprenaurs through volunteer mentorship.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leashy welcomed Congressman Chuck Fleishmann of Tennessee’s Third Congressional District to the newmakers line to talk about his background and preserving Conservative values nationwide.
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The State Department will waive fees for immigrants seeking visas to come to the U.S. if they were previously denied one because of the Trump administration’s travel ban, according to a Wednesday announcement.
“An IV applicant who is the beneficiary of a valid immigration petition may submit another visa application after being refused and in most circumstances they are required to pay again the relevant application fees,” according to a Federal Register rule published Wednesday. “The Department exempts from such fees only those IV applicants who are applying again after being refused” a visa under the travel ban.
The ban prevented immigration from Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, Syria, Venezuela and Yemen. President Joe Biden issued an executive order repealing the ban on his first day in office in January 2021.
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In the first few weeks of 2022, U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents in the El Paso Sector of New Mexico and West Texas arrested at least 34 known fugitives wanted on charges such as aggravated sexual assault of a child, second degree murder, sexual exploitation of a minor, kidnapping of a minor, and indecency with a child and lewd acts upon a child.
“Homeland security is our primary mission and every time a CBP officer identifies and arrests someone who is being sought by law enforcement, that makes our communities a little safer,” Hector Mancha, El Paso Director of Field Operations, said in a statement. “The vast majority of travelers CBP officers encounter pose no risk, but it is important that we identity and stop those who do.”
Agents arrested both men and women, U.S. citizens, lawful permanent residents, and illegal immigrants. They were wanted by law enforcement officials in Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and California. Once the suspects were processed by border agents, they were turned over to federal and or state authorities to face prosecution, according to CBP.
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Tennessee is set to receive over $300 million for bridge improvements and repairs, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced Friday. The allocation of taxpayer funding is a part of a $27 billion initiative dubbed the Bridge Replacement, Rehabilitation, Preservation, Protection, and Construction Program (Bridge Formula Program) – which, in turn, is part of the $2 trillion infrastructure package passed by Congress and signed by President Biden in mid-November 2021.
DOT said Tennessee has 881 bridges and over 270 miles of highway in poor condition. According to the DOT, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for Tennessee said “the American Society of Civil Engineers gave Tennessee a C on its infrastructure report card.” In all, the Volunteer State will receive $302,092,740 over the five years.
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A parents group claims that a Minnesota school district is indoctrinating toddlers about pride and other “equity” agenda items.
Saint Paul Public Schools is partnering with two organizations, AMAZE and OutFront Minnesota, to purportedly push materials discussing gender identity on children as young as three, according to a release by Parents Defending Education (PDE).
One document released by PDE from AMAZE included books aimed at preschool-age children, including “When Aidan Became a Brother,” “I Love My Colorful Nails” and “My Princess Boy.”
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The Biden administration said Wednesday it is making 400 million N95 masks available free to the American public to protect against COVID-19 infection.
President Biden is expected to formally announce the initiative in a White House press conference related to his first year in office.
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