Day: February 20, 2022

Lawsuit Demands Court Ends Biden’s ‘Unlawful’ and ‘Unconstitutional’ COVID-19 Airplane, Public Transit Mask Mandates

Neil W. McCabe

The general counsel of the Texas Public Policy Foundation told The Star News Network the legal theory behind the federal lawsuit filed by the foundation Wednesday on behalf of Representative Elizabeth Ann “Beth” Van Duyne and Texas Attorney General W. Kenneth Paxton petitions the court to strike down the Centers of Disease Control mask mandate on airplanes and public transit as unlawful and unconstitutional mitigation for the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Well, the basis is twofold,” said Robert Henneke, who is also the foundation’s executive director.

“First of all, there is no statutory authority for the Centers for Disease Control to command that all Americans have to wear a face mask covering when they travel,” Henneke said.

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Senator Blackburn Joins GOP Colleagues in Introducing Ukraine Security Assistance and Russia Sanctions Legislation

Kaitlin Housler

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) joined 33 Republican colleagues in introducing the Never Yielding Europe’s Territory (NYET) Act to provide the “critical support Ukraine needs to defend itself and deter Russian aggression, while imposing real costs on the Kremlin for its ongoing and potential future aggression against Ukraine.”

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Wisconsin’s 2020 Election Investigator Threatening to Jail Non-Compliant Elected Officials

Peter D'Abrosca

A special investigator and former member of the Wisconsin Supreme Court who has been looking into potential voter fraud in the 2020 election is now threatening mayors with jail time if they fail to comply with his requests for information. 

“Conservative former state Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman on Friday filed yet another petition in Waukesha County Circuit Court against the two mayors, this time adding Racine Mayor Cory Mason, the city clerks from Madison and Green Bay, staff from the Wisconsin Elections Commission and city of Milwaukee employees,” The Wisconsin State Journal reported. 

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Arizona Gubernatorial Candidate Kari Lake Debuts Her First TV Ad Monday During ‘Fake News’ Programs, Tells Viewers to ‘Turn Them Off’

Rachel Alexander

Leading Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who left broadcast news after thirty years in the business, is set to release her first television commercial on Monday. The ad, aimed to air during the evening news hour criticizes those shows for their bias, and tells viewers to turn the shows off.

Lake told the Arizona Sun Times, “My first TV ad, titled ‘Rigged Elections Have Consequences,’ airs this Monday! And it will ONLY air during fake news programs. I am not a conventional, boring politician so it should surprise no one that I don’t have conventional, boring campaign ads. If the Fake News refuses to tell the truth, it’s up to us to do so. I am the only candidate with bold solutions to the problems we face and I lay many of them out in our first ad. Get ready!”

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Florida Congressional Delegation Calls for More National Guard Resources

Cooper Moran

The entire Florida congressional delegation, led by Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), signed a letter to National Guard Bureau Chief General Daniel Hokanson, urging additional resources for the Florida National Guard (FLNG).

The letter explains that, despite a high population, the state has a relatively low number of Guard personnel. Furthermore, in recent years, Florida has witnessed numerous events that required the attention of the Guard.

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Pennsylvania House Speaker Bryan Cutler Calls for Release of State’s Standardized Test Scores

Cooper Moran

Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) called on the Pennsylvania Department of Education to release the scores of the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) for students throughout the state.

The test, which is a “standards-based, criterion-referenced assessment which provides students, parents, educators and citizens with an understanding of student and school performance related to the attainment of proficiency of the academic standards,” measures scores in English language arts, mathematics, and science and technology.

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USPS Will Conduct Audit Amid Mail Theft Uptick in Ohio

Peter D'Abrosca

According to a U.S. congresswoman from Ohio, the United States Postal Service (USPS) will conduct audits of its policies and procedures after a massive uptick in mail theft and violence against mail carriers has the public up in arms. 

“For years now, Central Ohioans have struggled with slow and unreliable USPS deliveries, particularly in the Northland area serviced by the Innis Road branch and Southeast Columbus,” Representative Joyce Beatty (D-OH-03) reportedly said. “These audits are the first step to restoring the rapid, reliable deliveries Americans should expect from their Postal Service. We expect to receive full reports from the USPS following the completion of the audits in the coming weeks, and I will work with local officials to ensure the necessary investments and solutions are put in place.”

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Commentary: The FBI’s Troubling Failure to Solve Wave of Bomb Threats at Historically Black Colleges

Admin

On Jan. 5, at least eight historically black colleges and universities received bomb threats, causing the campuses to issue lockdowns and cancel classes. HBCUs have continued to receive bomb threats over the past month, especially as Black History Month kicks off, actively disrupting the learning environments at these educational institutions.

However, the FBI and police departments across the country have seemingly not been able to trace any of the threats and claim to have no findings. It is unconvincing that the FBI has come up virtually empty-handed at so many campuses when it is rarely unsuccessful in cases involving threats at schools.

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Healthgrades Ranks 12 Virginia Hospitals Among Top Five Percent in the U.S.

Eric Burk

Twelve Virginia hospitals have been named to Healthgrades’ list of the top 250 hospitals in the U.S., a ranking based on patient outcomes. Henrico Doctors’ Hospital and several of its campuses and Sentara Princess Anne Hospital made it onto Healthgrades’ top 100 list. No Virginia hospitals made it onto the top 50 list.

“Now more than ever, patients are learning the importance of taking control of their health and using resources like Healthgrades to find the perfect hospital and caregiver match,” Healthgrades Chief Medical Officer and Head of Data Science Brad Bowman, M.D., said in a HCA Health Systems press release.

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Congressman Jody Hice: Brad Raffensperger’s Mailing of Absentee Ballot Applications to Everyone on the “Grossly Inaccurate” Georgia Voter File for the November 2020 Election Was a “Horrible Decision That Majorly Impacted Our Election Process”

Laura Baigert

Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s mailing of absentee ballot requests to everyone on the Georgia voter rolls for the November 3, 2020, presidential election, was a “a horrible decision that majorly impacted our election process,” Congressman Jody Hice (R-GA-10) told The Georgia Star News in a telephone interview Thursday, calling the voter registration file “grossly inaccurate.”

The November 3, 2020 presidential election results certified by Raffensperger and Governor Brian Kemp had Democratic candidate Joe Biden ahead of President Donald Trump by less than 12,000 votes out of 5 million votes cast, of which 1.3 million were fraud-prone absentee ballots.

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Federal Judge Rules in Favor of Air Force Officer Who Defied Vaccine Mandate

Admin

On Wednesday, a federal judge in Georgia ruled in favor of an anonymous Air Force officer who refused to take a COVID-19 vaccine as per the Air Force’s mandate, scoring another victory for freedom of religion.

According to CNN, Judge Tilman Self issued a preliminary injunction forbidding both the Department of Defense and the U.S. Air Force from enforcing its vaccine mandate on the female officer, who sought a religious exemption from the vaccine.

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Minnesota Gubernatorial Candidate Scott Jensen Would Look into Commuting Kim Potter’s Sentence if Elected

Admin

At least one Minnesota gubernatorial candidate would consider commuting the sentence of former Brooklyn Center police officer Kim Potter if he were elected.

In a two-and-a-half minute clip posted to Twitter, Dr. Scott Jensen said it sickened him to see Potter, a “good policewoman,” kept in custody and away from her family over Christmas. He blamed this on politicized judges who nevertheless allow “hardened repeat felons to get out of prison.”

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Another Obama Economist Joins Public Chorus of Voices Disparaging Biden’s Handling of Inflation

Admin

Former Obama administration Treasury Secretary Steven Rattner is the latest high-profile Democrat to hit at the Biden administration’s handling of the U.S. economy.

In a “guest essay” for the New York Times on Thursday, Rattner criticized the president for the “talking points on inflation” he provided during a recent interview with NBC’s Lester Holt.

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Facebook Executive Resigns After Apparently Being Caught in Underage Sex Sting

Admin

A corporate director at Facebook is out of the company after the release of what appeared to be footage of him being caught in an underage sex sting operation.

Jeren Miles, formerly a manager of global community development at Facebook parent company Meta, departed the company after video of the apparent bust was posted to the YouTube channel of the amateur group PCI Predator Catchers Indianapolis.

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Lack of Vitamin D Increases Risk of Severe COVID, According to Study

Admin

Vitamin D deficiency was linked to worse health outcomes for COVID-19 patients, including higher risk of death, a new study found.

Israeli scientists from Bar-Ilan University and the Galilee Medical Center found a strong connection between vitamin D deficiencies and negative COVID-19 outcomes. The researchers were able to predict COVID-19 patients’ vitamin D status accurately based on the severity of the disease in a patient, according to the Feb. 3 study.

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Ohio Study Links Stimulus Checks with Spike in Opioid Deaths

Admin

Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost released a study Thursday and suggested there is a link between the distribution of COVID-19 pandemic-related stimulus checks and high rates of opioid-related overdoses in his state.

The pandemic and the epidemic of drug overdoses in the U.S. have created a “perfect storm” for high rates of overdose deaths, the authors of the study wrote.

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South African Doctor Who Discovered Omicron Refuses to ‘Create Fear’ by Hyping Variant’s Threat

Admin

“I cannot make a disease worse, and create fear out there,” says Dr. Angelique Coetzee, the South African doctor who discovered Omicron.

In an interview on Just the News Not Noise, Coetzee, chair of the South African Medical Association, described the pressure she faced from public health authorities worldwide to portray the now-dominant variant of COVID-19 as more severe than she was witnessing in real time.

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Sheriff Raises Concerns with Biden Administration’s Plan to House 2,000 Afghan Refugees a Month Near Virginia Schools

Admin

A Virginia sheriff has publicly raised concerns with a plan by the Joe Biden administration to reportedly house thousands of migrants in the Northern Virginia county of Loudoun, allegedly within walking distance of at least two schools.

Loudoun County Sheriff Michael Chapman’s office wrote on the sheriff’s website this week that earlier this month the county received an “unannounced visit” by the Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Protective Service.

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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Launches Human Trafficking Investigation Into TikTok

Admin

Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced Friday he is launching an investigation into Chinese social media app TikTok over potential aiding of human trafficking and child privacy violations.

“Chinese-owned company TikTok may be complicit in child exploitation, sex trafficking, human trafficking, drug smuggling and other unimaginable horrors,” Paxton said in a statement Friday. “I will get to the bottom of these concerns and make sure Big Tech doesn’t interfere with the safety and security of Texans.”

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Wisconsin State Superintendent Tells Constituents Politicians Are ‘Pitting Parents Against Teachers’

Admin

Wisconsin State Superintendent Dr. Jill Underly wrote an open letter, “as a fellow parent and a former teacher” condemning politicians who “have gone after teachers” to micromanage curricula and prey on parents’ emotions in an open letter for the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) addressed to the state’s families and educators.

Despite her criticism of politicians, Underly’s own campaign finance records show her spring 2021 campaign was primarily funded by liberal donors and political action committees.

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University of Pennsylvania Trans Swimmer Breaks Another Women’s Record, Finishes a Lap Ahead of Competition

Admin

Transgender swimmer Lia Thomas won an Ivy League Championship in the women’s 500-yard freestyle event Thursday, beating most of her competitors by about one lap, according to multiple sources.

Thomas, who competed on the University of Pennsylvania men’s team for three years before adopting a transgender identity, beat the second-place 500 free swimmer by seven and a half seconds and the third-place swimmer by more than ten seconds, according to an event summary.

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Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration Fined Port Huron $6,300 over a ‘General Feeling,’ City Manager Says

The Center Square

House Oversight Committee testimony accused the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) of needlessly fining the city of Port Huron $6,300 on Aug. 3, 2020, claiming the penalty was based on little more than a “general feeling.”

Port Huron paid between $15,000 to $20,000 to fight a “meritless” MIOSHA fine that at one time could have cost just $3,000, City Manager James Freed said. Despite the city spending more than $150,000 on cleaning and a “comprehensive” COVID plan, MIOSHA still fined them.

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Multiple Climate Alarmist Studies About Fish Acidification Turn Out to Be False

Admin

A new study published in early February seems to indicate that many prior claims about the alleged acidification of ocean water dramatically exaggerated the process’s effect on fish and other marine life.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the study was published on February 3rd in PLOS Biology, and reviewed 91 different studies of the effects that acidification allegedly had on the behavior of fish. Many of these studies claimed that this would lead to a significant decrease in the fish population, as affected fish would be less likely to evade predators in the wild.

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State Senator Frank Niceley Stands Behind Current Effective Date of Three-Year Residency Requirement Legislation

Aaron Gulbransen

Senator Frank Niceley wants to keep the effective date the same for his legislation establishing residency requirements for candidates in U.S. House and U.S. Senate primaries. In its current form, SB2616 would effect this year’s elections.

The Tennessee Star previously reported that Tennessee State Representative David Wright (R-19) said he intends to amend the House version of SB2616 so that the effective date of the bill’s three-year residency requirement to qualify as a candidate for a congressional primary in the state from 2022 to 2024 because it would be “too confusing” to make it effective this year.

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