Nashville-Murfreesboro-Franklin Region Surpasses Two Million Residents in Census Update

The metropolitan area that stretches between Nashville, Murfreesboro and Franklin added more than 17,000 residents to cross the threshold of 2 million residents, according to data the U.S. Census Bureau released this week.

The information included more detailed data from its annual population estimates, recording changes in headcount from July 1, 2020, to July 1, 2021.

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Progressives Building ‘Nonpartisan’ Social Media Outlets, Send Out Ads for Democrats

A Monday report details the story of a seemingly nonpartisan social media network that is actually building an audience to push ads for Democrat candidates in the 2022 elections via a left-wing news outlet. 

“The network, operating under the name Real Voices Media, uses apolitical, nonideological content to build up audiences,” the report said. “It then leverages the crowd on behalf of clients in what experts say is a potent persuasion strategy.”

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NV-1 Democrat Incumbent Dina Titus Says She’s Stunned by New Lines Turning Congressional District to a ‘Tossup’

Nevada’s 1st Congressional District Democrat incumbent Dina Titus says she is feeling vulnerable for her re-election and that she hates her new district lines.

Titus clearly feels that the race for her seat is highly competitive.

Titus has strong words for the Democrat-controlled redistricting process, saying “I totally got f****d by the Legislature on my district,” she said in December when the new boundaries were announced. “I’m sorry to say it like that, but I don’t know any other way to say it.”

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Whistleblower Says ChiComs Launched COVID-19 at Wuhan’s October 2019 World Military Games

The top immunologist and Wuhan virus whistleblower, who escaped China after making her revelations public, told The Star News Network Chinese President Jin-Ping Xi and the Chinese Communist Party released COVID-19 at the 2019 Military World Games in Wuhan held Oct. 22 through Oct. 27.

“The Xi Jinping team, I mean emergency reaction–those teams, they have prepared different military drills combined with the local doctors and citizens of China, especially in Wuhan,” said Dr. Li-Meng Yan, who was a researcher at the World Health Organization facility in Hong Kong, when she was tasked with figuring out the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Commentary: BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Warns Environmental, Social and Governance Investors Ukraine War Will ‘Slow the World’s Progress Toward Net Zero’ in Near Term

Larry Fink

Blackrock CEO Larry Fink warned Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investors in his $10 trillion hedge fund’s annual shareholder letter that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine — and the resulting Western sanctions on Russia — had disrupted globalization and interdependent supply chains and would result in “increasing oil and gas supply” in the U.S. and “coal consumption may increase over the next year” in Europe and Asia to offset the drop in Russian exports.

As a result, Fink projected, “This will inevitably slow the world’s progress toward net zero in the near term,” referring to ESG goals like net zero global carbon emissions by 2050 that would encounter challenges, particularly as American consumers pay much higher prices with consumer inflation up 7.9 percent and producer inflation up 10 percent the past twelve months.

Those price pressures will mean more oil and gas production immediately, Fink said.

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Committee Votes to End Pipeline Bans, Check Pennsylvania Governor’s Power on Carbon Tax

A bipartisan majority of a Pennsylvania House of Representatives panel Monday passed several measures to increase fossil-fuel development in and exportation from the Keystone State.

One resolution, sponsored by state Rep. Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion) would call upon Govs. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) and Phil Murphy (D-NJ) to terminate their states’ bans on the building of new conduits that could carry natural gas extracted in Pennsylvania. Other legislation offered by state Sen. Joe Pittman (R-Indiana) would ensure that legislators must approve Pennsylvania’s entry into the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), a multi-state pact to which Gov. Tom Wolf (D) has committed the state by executive order. Implementation of RGGI entails effectively imposing a tax on carbon emissions.

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Arizona Legislature Passes Two Bills Centered on Transgender Issues, All Eyes on Gov. Ducey Now

Withstanding a noisy opposition campaign, the Arizona Legislature passed two bills addressing heated issues involving transgenders, which will be sent to Republican Gov. Doug Ducey to sign or veto. SB 1138 bans irreversible gender reassignment surgery for those under 18. SB 1165 prohibits males from participating in sports in public schools or at private schools that compete against public schools from playing on teams designated for girls. 

Rep. Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix), who co-sponsored SB 1165, testified regarding how she played on girls’ teams in high school, but would have never been able to make the men’s teams. “The advantages bestowed by biological male puberty are so big that no amount of training or talent can enable biological female athletes to overcome them,” she said. 

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DeSantis Not Concerned About Possible Boycotts Due to Signing ‘Anti-Grooming’ Parental Rights Bill

Not long after signing the Parental Rights in Education bill into law on Monday, Governor DeSantis’ office fielded questions about concerns related to possible boycotts of Florida businesses.

Critics of the bill have used the “Don’t Say Gay” slogan to generate opposition to the legislation. This opposition has included protests and employment boycotts aimed at the Disney Corporation.

Christian Pushaw, Governor DeSantis spokesperson, tweeted that a reporter had inquired about possible backlash in Florida from the new law.

The reporter said  “in other states we have seen boycotts and business impacts from controversial bills, is this a concern in Florida…that tourism could be impacted, as it still rebounds from the pandemic.”

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Trump-Endorsed Candidate for Lieutenant Governor Takes Shots at Weak Georgia Republicans

A Trump-endorsed candidate vying to become Georgia’s next Lieutenant Governor Saturday blasted weak Republicans during a rally held by the former president in the Peach State.

“I’m running [for Lieutenant Governor] for a lot of the same reasons that Herschel Walker is running for United States Senate,” State Sen. Burt Jones (R-District 25) told the crowd of about 5,000. “Because I’m sick and tired of weak-kneed Republicans. I serve in the State Senate [and] I’ve seen them fold on tax issues, I’ve seen them fold on educational issues, I’ve seen them fold on law enforcement issues and I didn’t just see them fold on election issues in 2020, but I saw them run and hide under their desk in 2020.”

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Bainbridge: Jane Timken Committed a ‘Serious Breach of Ethics’ Handling Ohio GOP’s Failed Audit

Jane Timken For U.S. Senate

A dislodged member of the Ohio Republican Party Central Committee’s Financial Review panel told The Ohio Star and The Star News Network the former chairwoman of the state party and now a candidate for Senate, Jane E. Timken, violated professional ethics when she concealed that her family’s accounting firm was chosen to audit the Ohio GOP books.

“Jane Timken had a fiduciary responsibility to disclose her conflict of interest related to her personal relationship with the CLA accounting firm,” said Mark A. Bainbridge, who was removed from the Financial Review Committee by Timken’s successor Robert A. Paduchik after the certified public accountant asked about up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in unaccountable funds.

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Commentary: Nonsensical Gender-Bending Ideology Ends When Women Say It Does

people in swimming pool

I have always tried to follow a “live and let live” philosophy. That meant as long as someone isn’t harming anyone else in any way, it was none of my business and people should be allowed to do what they want and be who they are. I draw the line, however, when those choices intrude on someone else’s life. And what these days we are instructed to call transgender “acceptance” often does.

In 2019, I explained how, after receiving a diagnosis specific to women in 2018, I joined what I thought was an exclusively female support group online. For months this group was a salve to my soul at a low point in my life. That was until our group was infiltrated by a biologically born male who urged the administrators to make inclusive changes for him. Because of one person, our group rules were changed from feminine terms to gender-neutral, and in order to continue participating in the group, we had to conform to the new rules of inclusivity. 

It felt like such a violation of privacy to share intimate, personal experiences with others knowing that there was a man with unknown intentions in our group. I took my exit knowing that the administrators were not standing by me and the other women who held my frustrations. 

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Wisconsin Lawmakers May Overturn Rule Forcing Local Fairs to Pay Some Winners

Senator Howard Marklein

The state of Wisconsin wants to stop paying people who win multiple prizes at multiple county or district fairs, but lawmakers in Madison say that could kill those local fairs.

Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said they discovered a new rule from the state’s Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection last week that would limit state-paid premiums to winners at just one local fair. After the first first-prize, other local fairs would be 100% responsible for all prizes for that same winner.

“This means that if someone wins an award at the Elroy Fair, the Juneau County Fair would not be able to be reimbursed for the premium if they won at the Juneau County Fair,” Marklein explained.

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Youngkin Signs Del. Scott’s Bill Allowing Localities to Reduce Car Property Tax Rate

Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin approved Delegate Phillip Scott’s (R-Spotsylvania) HB 1239, which will allow localities to reduce the property tax rate imposed on cars without impacting other personal property tax.

“With prices soaring on the necessities that families and individuals use every day, Virginians are in dire need of relief to their wallets. I am proud to sign this legislation and work with the General Assembly to empower localities to lower the cost of living,” Youngkin said in a Monday press release.

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Dr. Yan: ChiComs Launched COVID-19 at Wuhan’s October 2019 World Military Games

Neil W. McCabe, the national political director of The Star News Network, spoke to former World Health Organization immunologist and Wuhan virus whistleblower about what she said was the first attempt by Chinese President Jin-Ping Xi and the Chinese Communist Party to release the COVID-19 virus at the October 2019 World Military Games held in Wuhan.

The researcher, who was tasked with figuring out the origins of COVID-19 while working at the WHO facilities in Hong Kong, said the Chinese attempted to launch COVID-19 as a bioweapon at the seventh running of the military games, which are staged as an Olympic-like event.

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Minnesota Basketball Standout Runs for Congress to Bench Rep. Ilhan Omar

The Star News Network’s national political editor, Neil W. McCabe, sat down with world-renowned basketball player Royce White to discuss why he’s prepared to unseat Minnesota congresswoman incumbent Ilhan Omar and her globalist agenda.

McCabe: Royce White was world-renowned as a college basketball player and was regarded as one of the most talented men to play in the NBA. White told The Star News Network why now he is running for Congress against Ilhan Omar.

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Attorney General Yost Announces $80 Million Settlement Reached with Company That Caused Environmental Damage Through PCB Contamination

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced an $80 million settlement with the Monsanto Company Thursday that “forces the company to pay for the long-standing environmental damage it knowingly caused in Ohio with its toxic products.”

“Ohio has been absorbing the health and environmental costs of PCB contamination for decades, and the cleanup will likely continue for even longer,” Attorney General Dave Yost said. “This settlement not only holds Monsanto accountable for its actions but also provides significant financial resources to assist in environmental cleanup.”

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Ohio’s Gas Prices Remain Higher Than $4 Per Gallon

Nearly a month after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, for which Democrats blame skyrocketing gas prices nationwide, gas in Ohio remains at more than $4.00 per gallon on average. 

According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of gas in Ohio has climbed three cents in the past week, from $4.01 per gallon to $4.04 per gallon. That’s only about 10 cents less than the state’s record high of $4.15 per gallon, recording in May of 2015. 

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Senator Reeves Battles Orange County Circuit Court Judge over Monument Outside Courthouse

State Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) joined protesters outside the Orange County Courthouse on Monday after Judge David Franzén expressed an intention to call a grand jury to call on the Orange Board of Supervisors to remove the Confederate statue on courthouse property. Reeves is calling for an ethics investigation, saying Franzén’s actions violate ethics codes blocking judges from engaging in political activity.

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Virginia DMV Refunding 2,700 Drivers After Excess Charges

People at windows of DMV

The Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles is refunding drivers after a misreading of the law led the agency to wrongly charge more than 2,700 truck drivers with highway use fees.

“[The] DMV discovered that an interpretation of the 2020 highway use fee legislation led to the system being programmed in a way that included some lighter trucks in a category with cars that are subject to the highway use fee,” Jessica Cowardin, a spokesperson for the Virginia DMV told The Center Square.

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Commentary: Who is Running the Biden Regime?

So how did that work when Joe Biden announced that Vladmir Putin is a “butcher” who “cannot remain in power” only for Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to follow up with a pay-no-attention-to-the angry-old-guy-shouting-at-the-clouds correction. According to Blinken, the United States does not “have a strategy of regime change in Russia or anywhere else.”

Well, that’s a relief. Otherwise Putin might get the idea that U.S. and NATO involvement in Ukraine poses an existential threat that would prompt him to do something really crazy like use tactical nukes or chemical or biological weapons to win at all costs. Because, after all, if the U.S. and NATO are trying to topple his government, then what does he have to lose?

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‘Shortfall’: Trump Energy Secretary Casts Doubt on Biden Gas Deal with the European Union

Dan Brouillette

Former Energy Secretary Dan Brouillette suggested that President Joe Biden’s recent gas deal with the European Union (EU) wouldn’t be enough to help the continent wean itself off Russian energy.

Brouillette — who served as deputy energy secretary between 2017-2019 and energy secretary between 2019-2021 — noted that the U.S. wouldn’t be able to fill the gap left by Russian energy during an interview with CNBC on Monday. He added that the EU cannot expect to consume less total energy as part of its plan to ditch Russian gas.

“Frankly, I’m not quite sure that everyone can make up that shortfall,” said Brouillette, according to CNBC. “That’s an enormous amount of gas.”

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Analysis: The Biden Admin’s Drastic Gas Price Increases Date Back to His First Day in Office

Person filling up red car with petrol/gasoline

pump prices have climbed throughout his tenure.

While Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has destabilized global energy markets, causing an historic supply crunch, high gasoline prices have been the norm throughout Biden’s first 14 months, federal data showed. Experts have blamed the high prices on the administration’s energy and climate policies disincentivizing domestic fossil fuel production.

Since Russia’s invasion, gasoline prices have increased more than 20%, from $3.53 per gallon to $4.24 per gallon, according to the Energy Information Administration. However, pump prices increased a whopping 48.4% between Biden’s January 2021 inauguration and Feb. 21, three days before Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine.

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Biden’s Job Approval Plummets to New Low

Joe Biden

President Joe Biden’s job approval rating plummeted to a new low as concerns grew over the war in Ukraine and surging inflation, according to an NBC News poll released Sunday.

Only 40% of Americans surveyed approved of the job Biden has done through his first two years, marking the lowest rating since he took office, according to the poll. Just 16% of registered voters strongly approved of Biden’s job, and 71% of those surveyed said the country is “off on the wrong track.”

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Georgia Senate Signs Off on Fiscal 2023 Budget

Georgia State Capitol

The Georgia Senate has signed off on a fiscal year 2023 state budget that increases spending by 10.8% over last year.

The Senate voted 56-0 in favor of an amended House Bill 911, a more than $30 billion spending plan that includes pay raises for many state employees and largely returns spending to pre-COVID-19-pandemic spending levels.

The budget proposal includes pay raises for certified teachers and other school workers, including nutrition workers, bus drivers and school nurses. It also increases funding for law enforcement, including for the Georgia Department of Public Safety to hire state troopers and expand crisis intervention training for officers across the Peach State.

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Feds’ Pressure on Tech Platforms to Censor COVID ‘Misinformation’ Is Unconstitutional, Suit Says

The government’s sustained pressure on social media platforms to censor and report purported COVID-19 misinformation amounts to “state action” that violates the First Amendment, according to a lawsuit filed Friday on behalf of three Twitter users.

The New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a frequent litigant against COVID-related administrative action, is representing theoretical cognitive scientist Mark Changizi, lawyer Michael Senger and stay-at-home father Daniel Kotzin.

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