Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles in studio to discuss whether or not he’ll enter the race for the 5th Congressional District seat.
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Nashville continues to be in the hunt to host the 2024 Republican National Convention.
The four final cities under consideration to host the 2024 GOP presidential nominating convention were Nashville, Salt Lake City, Milwaukee, and Pittsburgh.
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Tennessee residents can now go online to see how the 2021-2022 redistricting process impacts them.
Members of the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office have created a new online dashboard called Tennessee District Lookup that shows which addresses in the state are now assigned to which legislative district.
The new dashboard updates the public on legislative district information for county commissions, the U.S. Congress, and both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly.
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Pro-life legislation pending before Tennessee’s General Assembly has received a sponsor in the State House.
State Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald-SD28) originally filed SB2158, a bill prohibiting LEAs or public charter schools from doing business with abortion providers. Representative Debra Moody (R-Covington-HD81) filed HB2557, the state House companion version on February, 3, 2022.
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What irony!
Woody Guthrie and Pete Seeger must be turning over in their graves.
Bernie Sanders must be having sleepless nights.
The left-wing anthem “Which Side Are You On?” is no longer about whether you’re a “union man” or a “thug for J.H. Blair.” It’s about the size of your stock portfolio or when to go public with your start-up.
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Texas Republican Rep. Troy Nehls said Tuesday that the United States Capitol Police “illegally” entered his office as part of an alleged investigation and that one of his staffers caught them in the act.
Nehls accused Capitol Police officers of illegally entering his office twice during Thanksgiving week last year, during which they allegedly photographed sensitive legislative items.
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A paralyzed man became the first person to walk again after having his spinal cord completely severed.
Michel Roccati, who was paralyzed for five years after a motorcycle accident, took his first steps thanks to an electrical device implanted in his spine, BBC News reported. His experience marks the first time a patient has been able to walk after their spinal cord was completely cut.
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On Monday, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced in a statement that it would no longer be moving forward with previous plans to implement a controversial facial recognition software on its website in order for users to access certain tax records.
According to CNN, the IRS’s reversal came after widespread backlash by elected officials, privacy groups, and others who pointed out that such technology would constitute a massive overreach and violation of individual privacy. The IRS said in its statement that it would “transition away from using a third-party verification service involving facial recognition,” and would instead add an “additional authentication process.” The agency also vowed to “protect taxpayer data and ensure broad access to online tools.”
“The IRS takes taxpayer privacy and security seriously,” IRS commissioner Chuck Rettig said, “and we understand the concerns that have been raised. Everyone should feel comfortable with how their personal information is secured, and we are quickly pursuing short-term options that do not involve facial recognition.”
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A 5-year-old riding in her mother’s car. A Texas sheriff’s deputy on routine patrol. A Florida father who thought he was foster parenting a minor. A Mississippi woman pistol whipped as she talked on cell phone. Three people found burned to death in a car in Alabama.
All have one thing in common: they were victimized since President Joe Biden took office by immigrants who illegally crossed the border.
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The U.S. trade deficit continued to grow in December as the import-export gap widened to record highs in 2021, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.
The trade deficit grew by 1.8% in December 2021 to $80.7 billion, the Census Bureau announced Tuesday, $1.4 billion above the revised figure from November 2021.
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The first set of trials for the hundreds of protesters charged in the Justice Department’s sweeping criminal investigation into January 6 begins later this month. Since the Capitol building is considered the scene of the crime, every trial will be held in the District of Columbia—which means the jury pool will be composed solely of residents living in the nation’s capital.
To say this is a problem for Trump supporters facing even minor charges is a huge understatement.
January 6 defendants already have suffered the wrath of D.C.-based federal judges who’ve imposed unusually harsh prison sentences for low level misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies while routinely berating defendants from the bench.
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Federal authorities charged China-based telecommunications firm Hytera Communications with conspiring to steal trade secrets from a U.S. company, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Monday.
Hytera allegedly recruited employees from U.S. telecommunications company Motorola to steal digital mobile radio (DMR) technology, according to an indictment unsealed Monday. The Chinese company then allegedly used Motorola’s technology to accelerate the development of its own DMR products, the DOJ announced.
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Republican Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s office sent a letter to crowdfunding site GoFundMe on Monday requesting the company preserve documents related to its deletion of a fundraiser supporting a protest against Canadian COVID-19 restrictions.
The letter, addressed to GoFundMe general counsel Kim Wilford, questioned whether GoFundMe violated Arizona laws relating to “fraud, deception, and unfair treatment” when it deleted the “Freedom Convoy 2022” fundraiser, a donation initiative intended to support individuals currently protesting Canada’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for truck drivers and other coronavirus restrictions. Brnovich’s office demanded the company preserve all documents related to the fundraisers’ removal.
“GoFundMe is hereby on notice to preserve materials of any kind, including but not limited to, all documents, drafts, emails, voicemails, text or communication app messages of any kind, and social media communications relating in any way and all times to the Freedom Convoy 2022 fundraiser,” wrote Joseph Sciarrotta, Jr., civil litigation division chief.
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Last week in the Atlantic, David Graham took aim at smart conservative politicians who play dumb. He declares at the beginning of his piece, “This is the age of smart politicians pretending to be stupid.” As evidence, he mainly cites Gov. Ron DeSantis, senatorial candidates J.D. Vance and Eric Greitens, and Sen. Josh Hawley.
Graham argues that these men belie their impressive degrees from Ivy League universities by aligning themselves with the populist conservative movement in some capacity. DeSantis does not brag about COVID booster shots, Vance is critical of China and globalism, and Greitens and Hawley have doubts about the 2020 election. Surely, according to Graham, these must be poses to win over Trump supporters, not sincere positions stemming from valid objections. There’s just no way such educated people would actually believe what they’re pushing.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed State Representative (R-75) Bruce Griffey to the newsmakers line to talk about recent legislation proposed to stop CRT training in the workplace.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Mayor Andy Ogles and guest host Grant Henry in studio to discuss the similarities between Tennessee’s horn honking protest of 2000 and Canada’s of today in 2022.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Mayor Glenn Jacobs of Knox County to the newsmakers line to talk about this continued fight against mandatory mask mandates in schools and the new state budget.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Gary Humble of Tennessee Stands to the newsmakers line to talk state budget disappointment and his mission for 2022.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star report, host Leahy welcomed guest host Grant Henry in studio for another edition of Grant’s Rants.
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Gov. Tom Wolf (D-PA) unveiled his final state budget proposal to the General Assembly yesterday, asking members to approve a 10.9 percent spending increase.
Major items he proposed include $1.75 billion more for public schools and $200 million more for college scholarships. The governor insisted his aims could be realized without resorting to tax rises, though his $43.7 billion plan hinges on the use of about $2 billion in one-time federal funds from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA).
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Virginia’s Democrat-controlled Senate is suddenly about to pass a bill allowing parents to opt their children out of wearing masks. In Tuesday’s session, Senator Chap Petersen (D-Fairfax City) amended Senator Siobhan Dunnavant’s (R-Henrico) in-person learning bill to include the mask-opt-out clause – and 10 out of 21 Democrats voted with Republicans to approve the change, setting up the bill for final passage on Wednesday.
Despite vocal Democrats and some urban school boards pushing back against Governor Glenn Youngkin’s executive order requiring a school mask mandate opt-out, Petersen has been calling for a masking off-ramp. On Monday, he sent a letter to several northern Virginia schools warning of his plans to introduce legislation to that effect. He argued that mask-wearing is a political decision.
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A recently resettled Afghan refugee who was featured on a news broadcast when he arrived in the United States has been arrested and charged for an alleged sexual assault.
Police want Matiullah Matie to be charged with fourth-degree sexual assault, according to WSAW.
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The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL) granted Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s request to expand the eligibility for waivers for Michiganders who wrongly received Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) because of the state jobless agency’s mistake.
“Michiganders should not be penalized for doing what was right at the time they applied for federal pandemic benefits,” Whitmer said in a statement. “Coupled with the waivers we applied earlier, we are looking to help Michiganders who needed unemployment benefits to pay their bills, keep food on the table, and continue supporting small businesses. I look forward to working with our legislative partners to continue putting Michiganders first and keeping more money in their pockets.”
The USDOL updated its waiver guidance to approve five new scenarios for consideration of a waiver may apply blanket waivers for recovery of overpayments:
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The Ohio Supreme Court agreed with two Democrats on the Ohio Redistricting Commission and denied a motion from Attorney General Dave Yost to relegate the two to “friend of the court” status in ongoing legal challenges to new state legislative districts.
Commission co-chair Sen. Vernon Sykes, D-Akron, and House Minority Leader Allison Russo, D-Upper Arlington, called Yost’s motion an attempt to silence the two, who had voted against the original maps and ones reconfigured by order of the court.
“I am relieved to see that a fair process is continuing in the courts,” Russo said. “We spoke up for the people against unconstitutional maps, while the Attorney General tried to silence us. AG Yost should not have tried to put his thumb on the scale in this process. Now, we wait the court’s decision on the submitted maps and let the process play out with greater transparency.”
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The Biden administration is advancing immigration policies that are harming children, Gov. Ron DeSantis, Lt. Gov. Jeanette Nuñez, and Attorney General Ashley Moody say.
The statewide elected officials met Monday with Cuban Americans who came to Miami as children as part of the 1960-62 era humanitarian operation Peter Pan (“Pedro Pan”). Over a two-year period, more than 14,000 Cuban youths arrived alone in the U.S. in what was at the time the largest recorded exodus of unaccompanied minors in the Western Hemisphere fleeing from the communist dictatorship of Fidel Castro.
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An Albert Lea woman who was sentenced to 90 days in jail for violating Gov. Tim Walz’s COVID-19 executive orders was released from custody Saturday morning.
Lisa Hanson, owner of The Interchange Wine and Coffee Bistro, refused to close her business when Gov. Walz ordered all bars and restaurants in the state to shut down. She was found guilty of six misdemeanors as a result.
Prosecutors argued for a $500 fine and several days in jail, but Judge Joseph Bueltel wanted to make an example out of Hanson, which he made clear in court. Bueltel reprimanded Hanson for “making money” while “suckers down the street closed.”
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Minnesota Teen Activists announced Tuesday that it would be co-hosting a walkout on behalf of Amir Locke, who was shot and killed by a Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) officer during a raid last Wednesday.
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In yet another scandal involving Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS), an email published on Twitter shows school security officials told school administrators to seek warrants from magistrate judges to arrest students who refused to wear masks.
An email from security head John Clark, posted on Twitter by commentator Ned Ryun, shows Clark giving teachers instructions on February 1 about how to obtain those warrants. The instructions were given just after the school vowed to defy Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R), who banned mask mandates on his first day in office.
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Representative Rashida Tlaib (D-MI-13) has awarded approximately $170,000 to an anti-Israel political consulting firm, according to financial disclosures filed with the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).
According to the filings, Tlaib’s campaign and leadership PAC have dished out the funds to Unbought Power LLC, a political consulting firm. The firm is run by activist Rasha Mubarak.
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Watkinsville resident Julie Mauck is running for the Oconee County Schools Board of Education, and, if she wins, she said she has concrete goals that could transform how the board and the school system do business. Specifically, Mauck wants to help the public gain more access to what, precisely, the school system is passing down to your children.
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Former Pennsylvania Republican congressman and current gubernatorial candidate Lou Barletta blasted President Joe Biden’s administration Tuesday for issuing a “Terrorism Advisory Bulletin” equating political dissenters with terrorists.
The document, issued by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) the day before, lamented the presence of “an online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories” that “sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions.” The administration warned about opposition to “COVID-19 mitigation measures—particularly COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates” which allegedly “have been used by domestic violent extremists to justify violence since 2020.”
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Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) on Tuesday formally launched his campaign for a third term in the U.S. House of Representatives.
The lawmaker will run in the 7th Congressional District, which will hold a slightly different constituency than previous years due to the state’s redistricting plan.
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Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Tuesday endorsed Dave McCormick in his campaign for the GOP nomination to represent Pennsylvania in the U.S. Senate.
The former Trump administration official called McCormick a “warrior,” opting to endorse him over Mehmet Oz and other prominent Republican candidates.
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Georgia state lawmakers are debating a bill that would ban the teaching of the concepts of Critical Race Theory (CRT) by prohibiting “discrimination on the basis of race, skin color, or ethnicity.”
State Sen. Bo Hatchett (R-50), the primary sponsor of Senate Bill 377, defended his legislation Monday as Democrats claimed the bill was unnecessary, arguing that CRT is not taught in Georgia public schools, and that the bill would prevent students from learning about America’s history concerning slavery and racism.
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Parents of a Michigan school district are threatening a lawsuit if officials continue to force their children to wear masks.
Attorneys from the Thomas More Society presented a demand letter February 3 on behalf of the Walled Lake Citizens for Parental Rights to the city’s Consolidated School District Board of Education.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich is suing the Biden administration again over its COVID-19 mandates, this time leading a coalition of other Attorneys General against the mandate for health care workers, known as the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services mandate. He took the lead along with the Attorneys General of Montana and Louisiana in a 69-page complaint, which was joined by 13 other states.
Brnovich said in a statement, “The unlawful mandate for facilities that receive Medicare or Medicaid funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is ‘causing havoc in the healthcare labor market’ across the nation – especially in rural communities – and does not account for the pandemic’s changing circumstances.”
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Virginia Senate Democrats defeated an effort to revive confirmation of former Trump EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler as Governor Glenn Youngkin’s secretary of natural and historic resources. In committee last week, Democrats voted to remove Wheeler from SJ 84, the bill to confirm Youngkin’s cabinet selections. On Tuesday, Republicans opposed a vote to confirm the committee amendment.
Senator Richard Stuart (R-King George) said that Wheeler had been impressive in committee interviews, and had a record of helping Virginia.
“But I get the politics. I understand that some of these environmental groups out there don’t like him because of who he worked for. And that’s just a real shame, because we have an opportunity here to confirm somebody who has the real credentials and I’ve not heard one member in this body object to his credentials or his qualifications,” he said.
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Records indicate that a candidate running in the Tennessee 5th Congressional District Republican primary does not live in the district.
Records read to The Tennessee Star say that former Trump administration State Department spokesman Morgan Ortagus’ current address is in the 7th Congressional District, not the 5th District that she is seeking to represent.
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