Senator Marsha Blackburn Introduces Legislation to Encourage Innovation and Entrepreneurs

Tennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), joined by Democrat Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), introduced legislation to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship.

The bill, entitled the Leveraging our National Laboratories to Develop Tomorrow’s Technology Leaders Act, aims to use additional funding for the country’s National Laboratories to encourage the development.

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Twitter Unlocks The Tennessee Star Account

After about 24 hours of being locked out, The Tennessee Star’s Twitter account has been unlocked, and its full functionality restored. 

“After The Tennessee Star reported a factual story on Friday about Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) signing a bill into law making Ivermectin available over-the-counter, Twitter has locked The Tennessee Star out of its account,” The Star reported Saturday.

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Pennsylvania House Republicans Hail Bipartisan Vote to Cut Corporate Tax

Pennsylvania Republican lawmakers voiced optimism last week that the commonwealth’s onerous Corporate Net Income Tax (CNIT) might finally soon get reduced, given a recent overwhelming state House vote to do so.

At 9.99 percent, the Keystone State’s CNIT is the second highest in the U.S. A bill by Rep. Joshua Kail (R-Monaca) would reduce the rate to 8.99 percent. His legislation passed the House of Representatives 195-8.

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Connecticut House Passes Legislation Barring Work Meetings Discussing Unions

On Friday, Connecticut’s House of Representatives passed a bill prohibiting companies’ management from requiring workers to listen to discussions regarding labor organization, politics or religion.

The AFL-CIO, to which more than 200,000 Connecticut workers belong, lauded the move in favor of the policy — known as a “captive audience” restriction — which no other state except Oregon has enacted. Union leaders have denounced the kind of meetings banned by the legislation, complaining that such events are unfairly used to inveigh against union-organization efforts.

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Youngkin Celebrates First 100 Days in Office

Governor Glenn Youngkin is celebrating his first 100 days in office with a video highlighting key accomplishments including an executive order banning divisive concepts in schools; signing a bipartisan school mask mandate ban; bipartisan legislation protecting cats and dogs; and welcoming businesses to Virginia.

“It has been an honor to serve the people of Virginia over the first 100 days and I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished together in a short period of time. I will continue to work on behalf of all Virginians to lower the cost of living, keep our communities safe, make government work for the people again and restore academic excellence in our schools,” the governor said in a Thursday press release.

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School Choice Supporters Encouraged by Latest Marquette Poll on Vouchers

More parents in Wisconsin are getting behind the idea of school choice.

The latest Marquette Law School Poll shows 58% of voters in the state support the idea of ending limits on vouchers for private or religious schools. That would open up school choice to more than just low-income families in many parts of Wisconsin. The poll says 33% of voters oppose the idea.

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Commentary: The Political Necessity of Trump’s Challenge of Climate Hysteria

Sin, punishment, redemption: as an ideology, environmentalism shares many features with organized religion. Falling after Easter this year, Earth Day, which was celebrated April 22, focuses on the sin-and-punishment parts of the trilogy. Redemption comes later, toward the end of each year, at the annual U.N. climate conferences that will save the planet.

On Earth Day this year, however, a loud dissenting voice was heard. Speaking at a Heritage Foundation event in Florida, Donald Trump attacked climate-change catastrophizing.

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‘The Supply Chain Does Not Exist’: Green Energy Industry Is in for a Rude Awakening

Renewable energy prices have skyrocketed while new wind and solar installations have plummeted over the last year, even as governments continue to forge ahead with ambitious climate plans.

While the U.S., European Union, other Western nations and international organizations have all pursued aggressive climate agendas that involve expanding renewable energy technology and infrastructure, prices have surged and profits have declined, according to industry reports and corporate earnings reviewed by the Daily Caller News Foundation. President Joe Biden has made a series of climate pledges, including a commitment to decarbonize the grid by 2035 and achieve net-zero economy-wide emissions by 2050, while pushing a long list of anti-fossil fuel policies.

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Bill to Expand Education Choice Passes in the Pennsylvania House

A bill with some momentum in the General Assembly would expand school choice with public funding, but may struggle to become law despite public opinion that supports it.

The Pennsylvania House passed an education bill to give students in low-performing schools a scholarship to move districts. The bill, HB2169, was introduced by Rep. Clint Owlett, R-Wellsboro, to establish a Lifeline Scholarship for students to leave an underperforming local school and enroll elsewhere. It narrowly passed 104-98.

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China Buddies Up to Major American Foe with New Military Agreement

China and Iran agreed to strengthen military ties during talks in Tehran on Wednesday, according to Chinese state-run media.

China’s Defense Minister Wei Fenghe met with Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran for high-level talks, where the parties pledged to deepen counter-terrorism cooperation ostensibly to further security and stability in the Middle East, Xinhua News reported Thursday. Wei guaranteed China would support Iran’s national sovereignty and dignity and expressed his nation’s intention to further develop their nation’s military relationship, according to the Chinese state-run media report.

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Commentary: Establishment Pundits Wildly Underestimate How Much COVID Policies Hurt Democrats

Voters appear poised to clobber the party that brought us COVID lockdowns, mask and vaccine mandates, and inflation. Indeed, rising inflation has largely resulted from COVID-related disincentives to work, disrupted supply chains, and blowout spending, along with federal restrictions on oil and gas production. It’s perhaps surprising, therefore, that the Cook Political Report foresees Republican gains in the House of Representatives as being only “in the 15-25 seat range,” while its projections suggest that Democrats have at least a coin flip’s chance of holding the Senate.

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Study: Whiteboards Are Racist Because ‘They Collaborate with White Organizational Culture’

“Observing Whiteness in Introductory Physics: A Case Study” was published last month in Physical Review Physics Education Research. The study observed three students as they worked to solve a physics problem and analyzed how “whiteness” is present in academia.

The study found that whiteboards can have racist undertones and perpetuate whiteness.

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Shrinking GDP Could Hurt Georgia Economy as Recession Fears Rise

A shrinking gross domestic product could cost Georgia taxpayers and is likely to hurt middle-class Georgians in particular as the country appears headed toward a recession, a non-profit policy group said this week.

“The tab is coming due for all the reckless stimulus spending during the COVID-19 pandemic,” Erik Randolph, director of research for the Georgia Center for Opportunity, said in a statement. “The declining GDP in the first quarter is the strongest indicator yet that our nation is headed into a recession.”

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Six Governors Hit Taxpayers with $90,000 Bill for U.N. Climate Conference Travel

Gov. Jay Inslee brought his wife to the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, sticking Washington taxpayers with the bill, which included more than $12,510.08 for business class airfare for the couple, something no other governor did at taxpayer expense.

Inslee led a delegation of subnational governments to the conference. The total travel tab for Washington taxpayers cost $25,955.32, more than any other U.S. state examined by The Center Square. The higher cost was due in part to the governor’s decision to fly with his wife in business class while other governors who attended at taxpayer expense flew in less expensive seats.

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Bail Reform in Ohio Becoming More of an Issue

A recent Ohio Supreme Court ruling focusing on considerations a judge weighs when setting bail has led to activity in the Ohio Statehouse.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost expressed so much concern about the court’s 4-3 decision in DuBose vs. McGuffey, a ruling that upheld an appellate court’s decision permitting the reduction of a murder suspect’s bail without considering community safety, that he recently announced his support for a proposed constitutional amendment regarding bail reform.

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Minnesota House and Senate Pass $25 Million Broadband Expansion Bill

It will cost Minnesota taxpayers $25 million in fiscal year 2023 to expand high-speed broadband access across the state if the governor signs a bill both legislative houses passed this week.

HF 4366, an omnibus agriculture and housing bill, includes increasing availability of grant funding for broadband from 50% to 75% of the total cost of a project, or up to $10 million, rather than a $5 million limit. Under the bill, the Office of Broadband Development must report to broadband policy and finance committees’ leaders by the end of 2022 how the bill changes the number and amounts of grants awarded.

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