Former Franklin Fire Chief Ronald “Rocky” Wayne Garzarek will avoid jail time stemming from a criminal case that happened during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Read the full story
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee signed a campaign finance reform bill on Friday that adds reporting requirements for political action committees, political candidates and some nonprofits.
Senate Bill 1005 went to conference committee before being approved by the Legislature on April 28 before being signed by both speakers and sent to Lee on May 18.
Read the full story
On this Memorial Day, we honor and remember military service members who made the ultimate sacrifice while serving the United States of America.
Memorial Day is a day in which we commemorate the men and women who died while fighting against the evils of tyranny, radical terrorism, slavery, and religious persecution. Yet it is also a day in which we are grateful for what their sacrifices have meant for our nation and our people.
Read the full story
The college-going rate for Tennessee students after high school graduation has dropped from 63.8% for the Class of 2017 to 52.8% for the Class of 2021, according to a report from the Tennessee Higher Education Commission.
There has been a 9 percentage point drop since the Class of 2019, which matches a national trend where there was a 9.2% decline in freshman college enrollment from fall 2019 to fall 2021.
Read the full story
Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed Tempe, Arizona, attorney Daniel J. Schultz, the creator and advocate of ‘The Precinct Strategy.’
Read the full story
An elementary school counselor from Milwaukee is refusing to resign or change her mind about gender identity, even after the state opened an investigation that could cost her her job.
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction sent Marissa Darlingh a letter on April 29, explaining that she was under investigation for what she said at a rally in Madison just six days before.
Read the full story
Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears blamed a lack of virtue for the U.S.’ “present-day woes” in a Friday speech at the NRA Women’s Leadership Forum. After the May 24 shooting and mass murder at a Texas school, Earle-Sears faced pressure to withdraw from the speaking commitment, but instead doubled down, publishing her speech in a Friday press release and excerpts on Twitter.
“They did not want me to come, thinking you are monsters, that you are culpable in the murder of the children,” Earle-Sears’ written remarks state.
Read the full story
Federal judges made good on a promise at midnight Saturday by implementing Ohio state legislative district maps that were previously ruled unconstitutional twice by the Ohio Supreme Court.
The three-judge panel of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, by a vote of 2-1, also ordered the state to hold its second primary Aug. 2.
“Given the factual record before us, two reasons justified our approach. First, no map had wo the approval of both the Commission and the Ohio Supreme Court. And second, Map 3 gave the state the most time to fix its own problem. That broke the tie,” the order, signed by judges Amul Thapar and Benjamin Beaton, read.
Read the full story
The Arizona House Floor passed a bill Wednesday that addresses how teachers can discuss topics of racism in classrooms.
“We’ve heard that this [Senate Bill (SB) 1412] is going to keep us from teaching real history. Later language in the bill specifically says that this [bill] does not prevent teachers from identifying and discussing historical movements, ideologies, or instances of racial hatred or discrimination, including but not limited to slavery, Indian removal, the holocaust, or Japanese American internment. If a teacher can’t teach these things without placing blame or judgment on the basis of race, they shouldn’t be teaching,” said State Representative Michelle Udall (R-Mesa) in defense of SB 1412.
Read the full story
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer celebrated the installation of two of the 30 eventual electric vehicle (EV) charging stations at state parks. She made the announcement at Holland State Park.
“This partnership to install charging stations in our state parks speaks to the collaborative approach we are taking to grow our economy and address climate change head-on through clean, reliable energy,” Whitmer said in a statement. “These charging stations along the Lake Michigan EV Circuit build on our rich Pure Michigan tradition of exploration and bringing together communities and businesses to ensure that we honor our past as the place that put the world on wheels and continue to invest in our workforce as we lead the transition to electric vehicles.”
Read the full story
Georgia awarded a $3 million grant for a new Jack Link’s manufacturing facility in Perry to help upgrade infrastructure.
The company plans to build a 500,000-square-foot snack meat production plant as part of a $450 million investment, a project that officials nicknamed “Project Birdcage.” The new facility is on a 120-acre Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development certified site near Interstate 75 in Houston County.
Read the full story
Pennsylvania state Rep. Greg Rothman (R-Camp Hill) last week announced he intends to introduce a measure allowing courts to impose the death penalty for killings based on their taking place in some settings including schools.
Currently, a convict can receive a death sentence in the Keystone State if a court finds he or she committed a murder to which at least one of 18 statutorily defined “aggravating circumstances” and no “mitigating circumstances” apply. Aggravating circumstances include the victim having served as a police officer or other first responder, the defendant having committed the killing for hire or the killer having held the victim hostage. Mitigating circumstances include the perpetrator having no prior criminal history or the killer having committed his or her crime under “extreme duress.”
Read the full story
Connecticut state Sen. Will Haskell (D-Bethel) last weekend took to the airwaves in support of his proposal to limit gun sales in the Constitution State to one per month.
“We know that handguns sold alongside other handguns in a bulk sale, they’re 64 percent more likely to be used in a criminal manner,” he told WCBS News Radio 880. “Most of the hunters in my district tell me that they don’t really purchase more than one gun per month, typically. I hope that they’ll come to the table on a very commonsense restriction that will save lives.”
Read the full story
The May 24 massacre in Uvalde, Texas outrages the conscience, though not for the facile and stupid reasons spewed by every prominent Democratic Party politician, half-witted newspaper columnist, and vapid television talking-head.
Liberals and other simpering dunderheads make fetishes of objects, focusing on the tool rather than the tool’s misuser. “Nobody needs an AR-15,” goes the refrain, when need has nothing and right has everything to do with it. “But the tool is so easy to misuse and abuse!” comes the ovine rebuttal, when we know as a matter of fact the tool is used in a small fraction of violent crimes.
Read the full story
Minnesota Democrats apparently tried to launch a scheme to intentionally deceive Republican voters in the upcoming gubernatorial election.
Minnesota has long been host to a party called the Grassroots Legalize Cannabis Party. However, conniving activists want to change the party’s name in an attempt to split the GOP vote.
A slew of DFL operatives attended a recent meeting to plan the name change including DFL Rep. Aisha Gomez, House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler’s chief of staff Paul Cumings and Sen. Erin Murphy’s campaign manager Daniel Cox.
Read the full story
Republican lieutenant gubernatorial candidate, Butch Miller, conceded the primary race to Trump-endorsed candidate, Burt Jones, on Friday.
“I don’t know what God’s plan is for my future or how I might be of service to Him and my fellow man, but I rely upon Him,” said Miller in a statement sent to supporters.
Miller, who served in the State Senate since 2010, received just over 31 percent, or 346,795 votes, according to the Georgia Secretary of State’s office. Fellow State Senator Burt Jones (R-Jackson) narrowly avoided a runoff with 50.07 percent, or 557,994 votes.
Read the full story
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Once my friend told me about a tribute that Scott Stevens had written about his grandfather and uncle, I knew I had found the perfect song to share on Memorial Day.
Scott Stevens is a country music singer/songwriter from East Tennessee who recently released the single “Missin’ You” to country radio off his debut country record Every Hat Is A Cowboy Hat. He is also a Civil Rights attorney and lawyer.
Read the full story
My old friend Quin Hillyer made an excellent point in a recent Washington Examiner op-ed. Today’s gender confusion — from female “actors” to male “expectant mothers” — has set heads spinning, and not just for the physical impossibility of that which the Left now calls commonplace. (Sorry, but no matter how hard the Human Rights Campaign screams, males cannot ovulate, and females cannot sport erections.) Even for those who capsize things that were commonplace just three years ago, the gender-fluid crowd’s war on the English language torpedoes clear communications.
Read the full story
Arizona State Representatives Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) and Kevin Payne (R-Sun City) shared a statement of support for the victims of the recent Texas school shooting.
“Like all Americans, we stand with the victims, survivors, and grieving families of the horrific tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. We are grateful for the heroic members of law enforcement whose actions helped prevent any greater loss of life,” said Bolick and Payne said in a joint statement Thursday.
The two also highlighted current legislative efforts to boost school safety across Arizona.
Read the full story
As the school year draws to an end, American universities around the country are reinstating mask mandates.
The University of California Los Angeles sent out an email to its students on May 26, stating that its mask mandate “will go back into effect beginning Friday, May 27 and remain in place through Wednesday, June 15.”
Read the full story
In reaction to the mass shooting inside of a Texas elementary school, Arizona lawmakers seek to explore their options to help teenagers struggling with mental health issues.
Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers appointed State Representative Joanne Osborne, R-Goodyear, to chair a new Ad Hoc Committee on Teen Mental Health this week.
Read the full story
A New York judge tossed out a lawsuit Wednesday that alleged New York City schools’ Gifted and Talented programs created a racial caste system.
Integrate NYC along with 13 high school students brought the lawsuit against New York City in March 2021, seeking to eliminate the city’s Gifted and Talented programs as well as current middle high school admission screens, according to court documents. The lawsuit argued that the city’s Gifted and Talented programs were ” discriminatory gatekeeping mechanisms” and contributed to an “educational caste system.”
Read the full story
A suspect vandalized a Washington state crisis pregnancy center by breaking the building’s windows and spray-painting the property early Wednesday morning.
The suspect targeted the Next Step Pregnancy Center in Lynwood, Washington, Next Step Pregnancy Center Director Heather Vasquez told KTTH talk radio host Jason Rantz. The center stayed open despite the vandalism and police have opened an investigation into the matter.
Read the full story
The Supreme Court denied a petition from 10 Republican-led states Thursday requesting it to block a key Biden administration climate policy.
The decision ensures that President Joe Biden’s so-called “social cost” of carbon policy — which assigns an estimated dollar value or cost to every ton of carbon emissions, according to the Government Accountability Office — can remain in place and be used for future federal permitting processes. The high court rejected states’ April 27 petition without giving a reason or listing which justices opposed it, according to a one-page filing published on the Supreme Court docket.
Read the full story
On Friday, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn promoted her “Stop The Inflationary Spending Spree” resolution on Twitter.
Blackburn tweeted, “I’ve introduced the Stop The Inflationary Spending Spree Resolution to make it more difficult to pass spending packages during periods of high inflation.”
Read the full story