Apoll released Wednesday shows the Ohio Senate race between GOP nominee J.D. Vance and Democrat rival Rep. Tim Ryan is deadlocked – roughly four weeks after their respective primary wins and roughly five months before general election day.
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by Diana Girnita When the fear of getting COVID-19 was high and lock-down orders were in place, telehealth was an important resource, allowing patients to connect with doctors by live video, telephone, and remote patient monitoring without overcrowding hospitals and doctors’ offices. During this time of isolation and drastic increases in mental health challenges, telehealth services provided a lifeline of critical psychiatric and behavioral healthcare to people in need. Early in the pandemic, nearly half of all states and the federal government passed laws expanding access to telehealth. These changes allowed more providers to adopt this technology and, as a result, the United States went from having 43% of community health centers using telehealth before the pandemic to 98% just months into the pandemic. With innovation and quickly evolving technology, healthcare providers can deliver more high-quality services remotely, and our laws should make it easy to do so. Yet, as of last year, only eight states have made telehealth changes permanent. Congress passed the 2022 omnibus spending bill in March that extended federal telehealth provisions through September, the end of the 2022 fiscal year. The law covers telehealth visits, including video and audio-only visits, for Medicare patients. It also reinstated the CARES Act provision allowing high-deductible health plans (which…
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Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolfe and Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin are moving their states in opposite directions.
Gov. Youngkin is focused on lowering the cost of living and improving Virginia’s appeal as a place to do business. Boeing’s recent announcement that it is moving from Illinois to Virginia is an example of his efforts. Youngkin’s aggressive pro-jobs push led CNBC to call Virginia the No. 1 state in the country for business.
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Sixteen Republican governors, with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee not among them, sent the Biden administration and the SEC a letter on Tuesday telling them to back off a proposed “climate change” disclosure regulation.
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Nashville Tuesday broke ground on its first permanent supportive housing complex, complete with amenities to house the homeless, the drug-addicted, and those with mental health issues.
“Today is the culmination of a lot of hard work and dedication by a number of leaders, many of whom are here today,” Mayor John Cooper (D) said at a press conference. “I am honored to be part of this official groundbreaking for Nashville’s first permanent supportive housing development.”
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Tennessee State Parks will celebrate National Trails Day this upcoming Saturday with free guided hikes at all 56 state parks, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) announced in a press release.
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The Tennessee Department of Education released new resources on the “Grow Your Own” educator initiative on Tuesday.
New resources released include a new webpage, one-sheets and videos to support anyone interested in participating in an initiative.
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A North Carolina state representative responded to an email from a constituent alerting her to the use of LGBTQ-themed flash cards, including a card with the depiction of a pregnant man, to teach colors to preschool children in an elementary school in the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS).
Upon receiving an email containing the flash card, apparently from “Progress Pride Flag Rainbow Families Flash Cards,” that depicted a pregnant man,” state Rep. Erin Paré (R-Wake) contacted the principal at Ballantine Elementary School in Wake County, noted a press release from North Carolina House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland).
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The liberal labor union Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 205 endorsed State Senator Heidi Campbell (D-Nashville) in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat. Campbell is the only Democrat running for the seat.
The SEIU has a history of endorsing Democratic candidates.
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A Roman Catholic Church in the Park Slope section of Brooklyn, New York, was desecrated over the weekend when its antique tabernacle was cut out of its metal casing, its consecrated hosts scattered indiscriminately about the altar, and the angel statues that flanked it beheaded.
The Diocese of Brooklyn called the desecration of St. Augustine Church “a brazen crime of disrespect and hate.”
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The day before FBI Director Christopher Wray explained to a Senate appropriations subcommittee why his department deserves a $527.8 million raise in 2023, his agents were credited with foiling an ISIS-linked plot to assassinate George W. Bush. An Iraqi national was arrested on May 25 and charged with attempting to smuggle four other Iraqis into the United States then “murder” the former president in retaliation for the war in Iraq. (I will address the sketchiness of this story in a separate column.)
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green blasted the Biden administration’s depletion of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Tuesday.
“Depleting our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to save face politically is completely reckless (and won’t ease gas prices),” said Green in a tweet.
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Attorneys for Senate candidate Dave McCormick on Monday found themselves in the atypical position of arguing in Commonwealth Court alongside Pennsylvania’s Democratic Secretary of State about which ballots to count.
The Republican and former hedge-fund executive is challenging the vote-counting standard that has determined the gap of 922 votes between him and his leading primary opponent, celebrity surgeon Mehmet Oz.
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Legislative and congressional candidates have a harder time getting onto the ballot in Connecticut than they do in any other state, according to a report by a state House candidate.
Andy Gottlieb is running for the state House of Representatives from the 98th District. In 2018, the 28-year-old liberal Democrat ran for state Senate and received nether the required number of supportive delegates at his party’s state convention nor a sufficient number of petition signatures to get onto the ballot that year.
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The state of Michigan could invest up to $135 million in new auto and electric vehicle (EV) plants for Ford Motor Company.
The news follows Stellantis NV choosing Kokomo, Ind., as the site for a $2.5 billion EV battery manufacturing plant that could employ 1,400 people, passing over locations around the Motor City.
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Florida’s Democrat lawmakers are pushing gun control legislation through the Florida legislature. Specifically, they are seeking to expand Florida’s red flag law that currently allows law enforcement officers to seek a court order to confiscate a person’s firearms if they court decides that person is a threat to themselves or others.
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Wisconsin Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Scott Fitzgerald (R-WI-05) cosponsored a bill that would make leaking a Supreme Court draft a federal crime.
The legislation, introduced by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) and known as the “Leaker Accountability Act of 2022,” would mandate a potential fine or up to 5 years imprisonment, if an individual was convicted.
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The General Assembly is expected to vote Wednesday on a budget compromise hammered out by top money legislators from House Republicans and Senate Democrats. The proposal includes tax and spending policy, but also includes legislation that would fund lab schools, block a Richmond casino for now, and create new marijuana misdemeanors for possession of more than four ounces of marijuana in public.
Executive Director of Virginia NORML JM Pedini said in a recent update that there had been the potential for three class six felonies.
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Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List, one of the country’s top pro-life organizations, offered its endorsement to Republican J.D. Vance in the U.S. Senate race in Ohio.
Vance, who edged out his Republican opponents in a crowded GOP primary, will face Democrat Tim Ryan in the November midterm election.
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For years, “Bill Nye the Science Guy” has entered classrooms to teach students about everything from chemistry and biology to physics and earth science. But now it’s apparent Nye’s show is less about science and more about “force feeding a flawed ideology over reality,” according to Minnesota parents.
Concerned Buffalo High School parents forwarded an email to Alpha News regarding what 10th-grade students can expect to learn from their sex education class beginning June 1.
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Atlanta’s Mayor and newly-promoted Interim Police Chief held a press conference Tuesday to detail a plan to handle an expected uptick in crime in the city this summer.
“We invited you here today to discuss the city’s collective Summer Safety Plan to keep our residents, visitors and business community safe over the next few months,” Mayor Andre Dickens (D) said. “Historically and across the nation, we know that data has shown a reliable uptick in crime during the summer months for a variety of reasons. This is why we’re standing here today to update you on our holistic approach to keep our community safe.”
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In the wake of the mass shooting in Uvalde, Texas, two people have been arrested in Florida in separate incidents related to mass shooting threats.
In Tampa, officials arrested an 18-year-old Florida man after receiving a tip that he threatened a mass shooting at a school in a social media post. Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a press release that Corey Anderson’s social media showed him with a handgun, a rifle and a tactical-style vest along with a caption that said, “Hey Siri, directions to the nearest school.”
Anderson was arrested on Sunday, May 29th, and charged with a written or electronic threat to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism.
“This type of threat is unacceptable. This man intentionally instilled fear into our community as a sick joke, but be warned, this is no laughing matter,” Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement on Facebook.
In a similar incident, a 10-year-old Florida fifth grade student has been arrested in Lee County after making a school threat. Investigators learned of the threats made by the boy on Saturday and arrested him, said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
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In the race for the GOP nomination for Virginia’s seventh congressional district, Derrick Anderson received an endorsement from a new PAC, Yesli Vega called for spending on the U.S. border, criticizing a recent Ukraine spending package, and Senator Bryce Reeves (R-Spotsylvania) launched his second television ad, highlighting his “anti-woke” stance.
“I don’t mean to trigger any woke liberals out there, but if you step onto my field talking politically correct nonsense, you probably won’t succeed. But Biden and the left celebrate when men win at women’s sports, and when we divide people by race,” Reeves says while video shows him as a football coach.
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Monday, Casa Grande police seized approximately 500,000 Fentanyl pills from two Arizona women after a traffic stop.
Lopez, 31, and Solis, 30, were arrested and booked for charges involving narcotic drugs, weapon dismantlement, and child endangerment. Authorities placed the two juveniles in the custody of the Department of Child Safety.
Arizona’s skyrocketing gas prices once again reached record highs Tuesday, as the state’s average price per gallon nears $5.00.
According to the American Automobile Association (AAA), the average price for a gallon of gas in the Grand Canyon State was $4.95. One year ago, it was $3.12 per gallon.
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The Buckhead Public Safety Task Force (Legislative Reference No. 22-R-3001) issued its final report on Friday, with recommendations and a plan to curb crime in the northernmost Atlanta district, wherein the city stated a new police precinct will open up in June.
“Task Force participants were able to hear from a broad spectrum of public safety stakeholders, and I look forward to seeing that expertise translated into a meaningful action plan,” said District 7 Council member Howard Shook.
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Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed candidate for Tennessee State House District 69 Jody Barrett and longtime friend and entertainer John Rich in-studio to talk about their history.
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According to The Washington Post, Donald Trump told 30,573 lies over the course of his four years in office.
CNN nutshelled it with “The 15 most notable lies of Donald Trump’s presidency.”
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New census data reveals that Arizona has five of the fastest-growing 15 cities in the U.S.
The five areas are Queen Creek, Buckeye, Casa Grande, Maricopa City and Goodyear. While Phoenix was further down on the list, it was one of only two of the largest 10 cities in the country to gain residents.
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Concerns are growing in Arizona that a water shortage may be looming down the road. Gov. Doug Ducey proposed creating an Arizona Water Authority (AWA) earlier this year in his 2022 State of the State address, but now the Arizona Senate majority caucus is suggesting a simpler plan that would use the existing Water Infrastructure Finance Authority of Arizona (WIFA).
Ducey’s plan to augment water resources, which he forged in partnership with Arizona Senate President Karen Fann (R-Prescott) and Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-Mesa), would cost $1 billion and include integrating new technologies such as desalination, start large scale water augmentation projects, and encourage reuse and efficiency with current supplies.
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Live from Music Row Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed GOP candidate for Tennessee State House District 69, attorney Jody Barrett, in-studio to talk about his background and how he’ll say no to federal education dollars.
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Most Americans believe President Joe Biden’s policies are the leading contributor to inflation in the U.S., a recent poll found.
The poll, conducted by the Trafalgar Group and the Convention of States Action from May 25 – 29, asked respondents to choose whether they believed Biden’s policies and spending or the war between Russia and Ukraine contributed more to inflation. The survey found that 59.9% of respondents blamed Biden’s policies and spending for inflation, compared to 31.6% who blamed the war between Russia and Ukraine and 8.5% who were unsure.
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Gas prices hit another record high Tuesday, the latest in more than a dozen record high days this month.
Gas prices had hit record highs every day for two weeks during May before dipping down slightly. Now, with two consecutive record days, another run of record highs may be on the way.
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Pete Arredondo, the school district police chief of Uvalde, Texas, has become the target of anger and blame for law enforcement’s delayed actions during a May 24 school shooting which left 19 children and two teachers dead.
Texas Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said Arredondo, the commander at the scene, made the “wrong decision” to have officers wait outside the classroom rather than immediately breaching and taking out the gunman in a Friday press conference.
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Home delivery to Connecticut cannabis consumers is one step closer to reality as the lottery for delivery licenses closed last week.
“Delivery service is one of the license types now available in Connecticut as part of the new adult-use program,” Kaitlyn Krasselt, communications director at the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection, told The Center Square. “Home delivery will also be available to patients in the medical marijuana program.”
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A coalition of 16 Republican governors sent a letter Tuesday to President Joe Biden, urging him to rescind a proposal introducing a series of climate requirements for companies.
The recent Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal, which forces publicly-traded companies to share so-called climate change risks and greenhouse gas emissions, would harm businesses and investors by adding high compliance costs, the governors argued in the letter addressed to both Biden and SEC Chairman Gary Gensler. The climate disclosure rule, they added, would also represent an overstepping of the SEC’s authority.
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Georgia is increasingly dangerous for pedestrians, and a new analysis revealed the state outpaces the increase nationally.
In 2021, the number of pedestrian traffic fatalities in The Peach State increased by 45.6% from 2019 and 23.8% from 2020, according to an analysis from the Governors Highway Safety Association. But it’s not just a Georgia problem; the organization’s review found that the 7,485 pedestrian traffic deaths nationwide in 2021 was a 16.7% increase from 2019 and an 11.5% increase from 2020.
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I live 90 miles from the US/Mexico border just outside of Eloy and only minutes to Interstate 10. You would think that would be a quiet piece of heaven in the desert where my family has farmed for decades.
Unfortunately, we know and understand the failures of an unsecure border firsthand. Border issues span far beyond the thin line that separates the United States from Mexico. My family has lived the ups and downs of this nation’s failed border policies for decades to the point that we have become numb to the sounds of our dog alerting us to trespassers and illegals stealing and damaging our property.
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Pfizer has asked a U.S. court to throw out a whistleblower’s lawsuit on the basis that the company can’t be guilty of fraud, abuse, and protocol violations in its COVID Vaccine clinical trials because its contract with the U.S. government allowed them to skirt regulations and federal laws that typically apply to government contracts.
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The Uvalde school district police chief has not responded for days to the Texas Department of Public Safety regarding a follow-up interview request following the elementary school shooting last week that left 19 children dead.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss the concept of primary elections by state and the importance of the TN5 race.
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Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, conservative country music star John Rich endorsed Jody Barrett for State Representative.
Barrett is running for Tennessee State House District 69 in the Republican primary, which is scheduled to occur on August 4.
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