A recent viral video from the YouTube channel Fleccas Talks showed several man-on-the-street interviews testing young people in New York City on their knowledge of basic facts. Some of the questions focused on American history and civics, while others were simple, numerical-based ones. The results were depressing, as the following samples demonstrate:
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The FBI announced Monday that citizens stopped six active shooters in 2021, according to a report on active shooting incidents.
Citizens stopped six active shooters, whom the FBI defines as “one or more individuals actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a populated area,” in 2021, killing four of them, according to the report, “Active Shooter Incidents In The United States In 2021.” There were 61 active shooter incidents in 2021, 12 of which met the FBI’s criteria for a “mass killing,” up from 40 the previous year.
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Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas may continue to insist the U.S. southern border is closed and secure — but President Joe Biden’s own Justice Department and its current FBI director are painting a picture of a border porous enough to tempt terrorists to assassinate a former president and drug cartels to operate with impunity.
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I keep writing my Music Spotlight column because of the stories. And while we all appreciate the music that these singer/songwriters bring to us, it is the stories of these tireless individuals that keep me coming back to my computer to share what I have learned with my readers.
For the first 25 years of her life, San Diego native Alyssa Jacey trained to be a dancer. She took her first dance class at age 4. She started in ballet and later added tap and jazz. Hip-hop was the craze, and that’s what the young performer aspired to be: a hip-hop dancer. She began competitive dancing with a troupe and performed all over the west coast.
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Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton threw cold water on “grandstanding” State Representative John Ray Clemmons’ (D-West Nashville) call for a special session to push gun control in Tennessee, demonstrating that there is little support for the idea.
In a press conference that NewsChannel5 reported on, Clemmons said, “Let’s pass mental health care laws. Let’s repeal bad laws that have facilitated this. Let’s use the indicators we see in domestic violence to limit people’s access to firearms. Let’s repeal the open carry law and guns in trunk law. Let’s take legislative action now. Not later, now. Not after another shooting, not after more deaths. Now.”
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Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) sent a letter to President Joe Biden and expressed concern over any commitments to the World Health Organization (WHO) that may violate the Constitution’s Treaty Clause.
According to the Constitution, lawmakers have the power to ratify any treaties negotiated by the President.
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House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) blamed Catholics who live out their beliefs on the sanctity of unborn human life for politicizing abortion, claiming they use abortion as a “cover” for their wider political agenda.
During an interview Tuesday on leftwing MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Pelosi, who was recently banned from receiving Holy Communion following her aggressive support for a radical abortion bill, said “this is not just about terminating a pregnancy.”
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Tennessee lawmakers are speaking out on social media after a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas unfolded on Tuesday that has since left 22, including the gunman, dead.
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The Biden Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced that all state and local agencies that receive federal funding for meals, a category that includes schools, must not discriminate based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
In a press release dated May 5, the USDA Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) announced it would now interpret the ban on discrimination based on sex included in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 and food-related legislation and programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly the Food Stamp program, to include sexual orientation and gender identity.
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As part of his proposed budget, Mayor John Cooper is pushing for a significant raise for Metro Nashville school bus drivers.
After unveiling his proposal, Cooper took to the bus radio system to tell the drivers personally.
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There are few words available to describe the shock and loathing in the wake of the murder of innocent children. The tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas crystallizes these feelings as people seek to grapple with what went so wrong with an eighteen-year-old that he would choose to murder children, an adult in the school as well as shot his own grandmother before traveling to the school.
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Florida Democrat House member Anna Eskamani was quick to politicize the mass shooting that took place at Robb Elementary school in Uvalde, Texas on Tuesday where reports indicate that 19 students and two teachers were killed in the shooting.
Eskamani tweeted out at 4:34 p.m. on Tuesday, “All these ‘pro-life’ politicians don’t seem to give a damn about our kids being shot in their own schools.”
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A Minneapolis preschool teacher who instructs three-year-olds describes themselves as “a bratty queer sl*t here to make other queer sl*ts happy,” generating waves of controversy online.
The teacher, Micha, goes by @lostmercreature and @queerhoneybear on TikTok where they post content about being an educator and their “trans/queer” sex life. Micha also posts about their hatred of capitalism and private schools — despite admitting they “work at a private Montessori school.”
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A new Arizona law signed by Governor Doug Ducey will mandate education about the 9/11 terrorist attacks for all students at public schools in the state.
Previously, Ducey promised to require the education for students in Arizona because the attack “shaped a generation, forever altering how we view the world, how the world views us and how we interact with each other.”
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Approximately $9.1 million in taxpayer-funded grants for business projects in Michigan expected to create 420 jobs are in three business expansions and a new semiconductor apprenticeship program.
The Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday announced the economic development, saying it would “build on our leadership in key industries, and support vibrant communities across Michigan.”
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A day after the school shooting in Uvalde, TX, Pennsylvania Democrats are calling for more stringent gun control in the state, with state Sen. Art Haywood (D-Abington) proposing eligibility licenses for firearm purchases.
Pennsylvania already administers licenses to carry firearms in Pennsylvania, for which any person who is at least 21 years old and has a clean record may apply.
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A number of Wisconsin’s progressive advocates and big labor unions want Milwaukee to abandon plans to host the Republican National Convention because they don’t like Republicans’ politics.
Voces de la Frontera Action, Power to the Polls, the Milwaukee Area Labor Council, Never Again is Now, and SEIU all signed on to an open letter Tuesday asking Milwaukee’s city council to reject a contract that would be necessary for Milwaukee to host the RNC in 2024.
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The Arizona Free Enterprise Club (AFEC) analyzed the success of the Red4ED movement in Arizona since it launched a little over four years ago, and concluded that after spending over $30 million, the movement not only failed to accomplish anything, but failed to stop historic tax cuts. Red4Ed’s two initiatives and referendum were struck down by courts as “legally flawed,” resulting in AFEC labeling its efforts “the largest, most expensive failure in Arizona political history.”
Arizona Educators United launched Red4Ed in 2018 ostensibly to increase teachers’ salaries and funding for K-12 education. People and teachers showed up all over, at the state capitol and at events and protests, wearing red shirts and carrying red signs. But AFEC said “the movement was quickly hijacked by the teachers’ unions and other out-of-state special interest groups.” It soon turned into “a singular quest to double the state income tax through a ballot initiative.”
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Governor Glenn Youngkin met with three of his cabinet members on Wednesday after a mass shooter killed children on Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
“This morning, Governor Youngkin received a briefing from Secretary Robert Mosier, Secretary Aimee Guidera, Secretary John Littel, and State Superintendent Jillian Balow about actions taken to protect children in schools and the resources available at the state level to provide mental health access as needed in response to yesterday’s tragedy in Uvalde, TX,” spokesperson Macaulay Porter said in a statement.
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The pro-life Susan B. Anthony List’s candidate-fund political action committee celebrated Herschel Walker’s Wednesday Republican primary win in the race for Georgia’s U.S. Senate seat.
The organization additionally blasted U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA)’s far-left record on abortion.
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GOP Senate nominee Herschel Walker, who overwhelmingly secured the Republican nomination, launched his first ad against incumbent Senator Raphael Warnock.
In the 30-second clip, Walker blasts the Democrat for his support of Joe Biden’s policies, which he argues has led to an increase in prices of consumer goods.
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Florida’s Republican lawmakers have not ruled out the possibility of a total and complete abortion ban if the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) overturns the landmark Roe v. Wade case and abortion law is returned back to the states.
In a report covered by POLITICO, Republican leaders have not indicated their outright support for such legislation, but they said they will follow the lead of the Republican Party as the legislature proceeds.
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In a video posted to Twitter, an Arizona gubernatorial candidate blasted her opponents who she says will not debate her.
“We’re living in critical times in American history, and really in human history,” Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake said. “Voters deserve to hear from candidates outside of just paid political ads.”
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed The Tennessee Star’s national political editor Neil McCabe to the newsmaker line to comment upon the Georgia primary election results.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Murfreesboro, Tennessee’s Mayor, Shane McFarland to the newsmaker line to learn about his background and discuss the new Notes Live amphitheater that will be built.
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The Republican Governor’s Association (RGA) Wednesday released an attack ad on Democrat gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who will square off for a rematch against Gov. Brian Kemp (R) in the Peach State’s November election.
“Typical Stacey Abrams. She believes only she knows what’s best,” the ad opens after quoting Abrams, who once said that she thinks people need to be told what to do.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy and all-star panelist Carmichael discuss the method in which the Tennessee constitution dictates the selection of an attorney general in the state.
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Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio for a special conversational edition of Crom’s Crommentary.
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The Republican nomination for Georgia’s 6th Congressional District will be decided in a run off election that is scheduled to occur on June 21.
Former chairman of the Georgia Ethics Commission and the Trump-endorsed candidate Jake Evans, who came in second place in the May 24 primary, will face off against physician Rich McCormick in the run off because no candidate achieved the 50 percent threshold.
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The Alliance Defending Freedom has filed its opening brief in the Virginia Supreme Court in the case of Peter Vlaming, a teacher who was fired after he declined to use a student’s preferred pronouns. Seven other organizations filed briefs supporting Vlaming on Tuesday, including the Office of the Attorney General on behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia.
“Under our Constitution, Virginians have an absolute right not to be forced to publicly disavow their sincerely held religious beliefs—and that applies equally to public-school teachers. Even on pure speech grounds, the government cannot force its employees to falsely express their agreement with controversial messages they don’t believe without identifying a compelling state interest that cannot be achieved through significantly less restrictive means,” the ADF brief states.
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On Wednesday, Joe Biden is prepared to sign several executive orders aimed at further punishing American police departments for alleged “systemic racism” and “brutality.”
The New York Post reports that the executive orders, meant to commemorate the two-year anniversary of the accidental fentanyl overdose death of George Floyd, will create a national registry of police officers who have been fired for misconduct, as well as further pressuring local governments to ban aggressive police tactics such as chokeholds and no-knock warrants. Another order will reduce the transfer of surplus military equipment to police departments.
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It looks like the long persecution of Professor Joshua Katz by his employer Princeton University has come to an end. The Washington Free Beacon reported last week that the school president “passed his recommendation that Katz be stripped of his tenure and fired to the university board of trustees,” and the board rubber-stamped it Monday. The whole episode nicely exemplifies the cowardice and incompetence of the liberals who run elite institutions in the United States today.
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Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said Wednesday that he will not immediately hold a vote on gun control legislation, following the mass shooting Tuesday at a Texas elementary school.
The New York Democrat says he does not think any such measure will attract enough bipartisan support to move forward.
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In explosive testimony Tuesday in the Michael Sussmann trial, an FBI agent said “fired up” senior FBI leadership insisted on continuing the investigation into now-debunked allegations of a secret Trump back channel to Moscow via a Russian bank despite learning the story was unsubstantiated.
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Confusion for some Ohio boards of election forced a new bill that walks back at least part of a law stopping election officials from working with nongovernmental entities.
The Ohio General Assembly tacked the legislation onto its budget last year. Despite assurances from lawmakers and Secretary of State Frank LaRose the ban would not create an issue for local election officials, Attorney General Dave Yost issued an opinion in January that said the new law criminalizes partnerships with private groups, but most routine work is OK.
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The Indiana state legislature banned biologically male athletes from playing on women’s sports at public schools on Tuesday, overriding Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb’s veto on the legislation.
HEA 1041, set to go into effect July 1, requires public schools designate sports categories by sex and the genetics of the athletes. Holcomb originally vetoed HEA 1041 in March 2022, arguing at the time that the bill did not offer “one consistent state policy regarding the fairness in K-12 sports in Indiana.”
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Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has not said whether he would seek to extend the state’s motor fuel tax suspension when it expires at the end of May. However, during a Wednesday morning interview with an Atlanta radio station, the governor indicated an announcement might be looming.
“I know Georgians need it; they’re getting killed at the pump right now, and they’re getting killed at the grocery store because of [President Joe] Biden’s 40-year high inflation, and quite honestly, … just bad policies in Washington, DC, like our domestic energy supply policy,” Kemp, a Republican, told WSB Radio.
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The Florida Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) shut down an abortion clinic last week with an emergency order for allegedly failing to follow safety protocols after two women were hospitalized following their second trimester abortions.
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Pennsylvania’s teacher shortage is spurring action in the General Assembly to pass reforms and simplify its certification process for educators.
A proposed bill, SB224, would assist out-of-state teachers’ certification to teach in Pennsylvania. So long as a teacher completed a state-approved teaching program elsewhere, they would be eligible for a comparable certification in Pennsylvania. It would provide for reciprocity with other states, making it easier for teachers who move to Pennsylvania to start teaching.
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The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will spend an additional $35 million to develop affordable housing units in the region and down payment assistance programs for prospective homeowners.
These new programs increase Maricopa County’s total affordable housing investment initiatives to $65 million.
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The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) confirmed Wednesday that it is working with Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) on safety protocols after Tuesday’s deadly mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas.
“Primarily precinct-based officers are visiting elementary schools today where they are providing reassurance and discussing existing protocols,” MNPD spokeswoman Kristin Mumford told The Tennessee Star Wednesday.
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Texas Democrat gubernatorial candidate Beto O’Rourke on Wednesday crashed GOP Gov. Greg Abbott’s press conference addressing the Uvalde elementary school mass shooting in which19 children and two adults were fatally shot.
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The Tennessee Professional Fire Fighters Association (TPFFA) endorsed former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat.
Harwell’s campaign, in an exclusive statement provided to The Tennessee Star on Tuesday, announced the TPFFA endorsement.
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Being “woke” once symbolized one’s awareness of the historical and present injustices faced by an individual or group in the pursuit of their advancement or being. It meant that the blinders of matters of racism and systems of oppression were removed so that one could fully awaken to the reality that racism exists. It is a continual and daily acknowledgement of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s words, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”
I am a young, 26-year-old black man in America. I have seen true racism, and the racist carnage in Buffalo, Charleston, Houston, and other cities across our country, and it has stirred in me and in many others a desire to see justice served.
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The National Association of Attorneys General was blasted again, this time by eight of its members in a letter sent on May 24 for its increasingly leftward tilt.
Kentucky Attorney General David Cameron sent the letter, which was signed by the attorneys general of Alaska, Florida, Louisiana, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia.
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State Farm has announced that, amid “news and customer inquiries,” it will discontinue its support for an LGBTQ+ activist group’s program that asked the insurance company to donate books, to schools, community centers, and libraries, that serve to indoctrinate young children into gender ideology under the guise of acceptance, diversity, and inclusion.
The company issued a news release Tuesday focused on an explosive leaked email obtained by Consumers’ Research that revealed State Farm urged its Florida insurance agents to donate radical books celebrating gender ideology that target children as young as age five.
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Wisconsin Bishops David Ricken of the diocese of Green Bay and Donald Hying of the diocese of Madison are among a growing number of Catholic bishops who have publicly expressed support for San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone’s declaration that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi not be admitted to Holy Communion due to her continued “aggressive promotion of abortion.”
“I wish to express my strong support for Archbishop Cordileone’s decision stating he has publicly declared that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi not be admitted to Holy Communion,” Ricken posted to Twitter following Cordileone’s notification to Pelosi that she is not to present herself for Holy Communion.
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Metro Government and the Nashville Department of Transportation are soliciting public feedback on potential measures to address “climate change.”
In a tweet, NDOT said, “Metro Nashville wants to hear from YOU by Tuesday, May 31! Your answers to the Climate Action Plan Survey will help shape how the city addresses climate change. #climateactionnash,” and then linked to a survey.
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The Republican National Committee joined Pennsylvania’s Republican Party this week in a legal effort to effectively help Mehmet Oz sew up last Tuesday’s Senate primary election battle against rival Dave McCormick.
As of Tuesday afternoon, McCormick is 982 votes behind the celebrity surgeon, though vote counting hasn’t concluded. Tuesday marked the final day that absentee military ballots could arrive at their respective counties and still get counted. What impact those final military votes will have on the race remains to be seen, though it bears observing that McCormick himself served in the U.S. Army and noted that fact well throughout his campaign.
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Two county prosecutors and two groups backing abortion are asking the Michigan Court of Appeals to take control of the case Planned Parenthood of Michigan v. Attorney General of the State of Michigan after they say the lower court glaringly exceeded its jurisdiction.
The Alliance for Defending Freedom – representing Michigan Right to Life, the Michigan Catholic Coalition, and prosecuting attorneys as well as Gerard M. Jarzynka of Jackson County and Christopher R. Becker of Kent County – filed its complaint Friday.
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