Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed attorney and former Army JAG officer Sean Timmons about corruption in the military’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate program.
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Star News Network Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren shares her Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
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President Donald J. Trump and his ambassador to Japan, and now GOP senator for Tennessee, expressed shock and sadness today at the death of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, killed by a gunman while campaigning Friday in Nara, Japan.
“The world today tragically lost a leading statesman, a tireless champion of democratic values, and the greatest Prime Minister in modern Japanese history, my friend Shinzo Abe,” said Sen. William F. Hagerty IV, who serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
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Hillsdale College and Ivy Academy’s Skillern Elementary announced an end to their partnership, which provided curricular support to the students at the charter school.
The decision from the school officials followed controversial remarks made by Hillsdale College President Larry Arnn.
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For many readers, the above title will conjure up memories of the 2008 housing crash caused by the proliferation of subprime mortgages and the subsequent tsunami of defaults. But a better corollary for the coming Biden bust is the Carter crash that occurred three decades earlier. During the final two years of Carter’s term, sales of existing and new homes collapsed because the Fed was forced to raise interest rates sharply to get double-digit inflation under control. This, in turn, produced double-digit mortgage rates that priced millions of potential buyers out of the market.
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A coalition of organizations and individuals convened by the National Association of Scholars (NAS) has released its model social studies standard, “American Birthright,” to teach America’s foundational history of liberty.
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Tennesseans can expect to enjoy three tax holidays over the next several months, according to the state’s Department of Revenue (DOR).
Annually, Tennessee holds a sales tax holiday for the month of July, letting them off the hook for state and local sales taxes, which can be up to 10 percent.
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TN-5 candidate and retired Brigadier General Kurt Winstead’s past history of donating to Democratic Party candidates and causes in federal races has been well documented, and now, additional Democrat donations in Tennessee state races have been discovered.
A search of the Tennessee Online Campaign Finance website, which contains campaign finance reports dating back to at least 2000, shows that Winstead personally donated on at least seven occasions to Democratic campaigns.
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Kurt Winstead’s campaign in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat says they’ve taken in nearly $580,000 for the the Federal Election Commission’s second quarter fundraising period which ended on June 30.
Winstead is a candidate in the August 4 Republican primary, which is less than a month away.
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Virginia is receiving almost $22.8 million in federal funds to help reclaim abandoned mine land, according to a Wednesday announcement from Governor Glenn Youngkin. In February, Senators Mark Warner (D-Virginia) and Tim Kaine (D-Virginia) announced that the funding is possible thanks to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passed in 2021.
“We are excited to get to work and assist in getting others back to work with this announcement of federal funds,” Youngkin said in his release. “Creating jobs in coal-impacted communities is a priority and through the reclamation and repurposing of these mined lands, we hope to see an additional economic activity for properties that can become suitable for development.”
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The feds are sending $40 million to help improve a concourse at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport.
The Federal Aviation Administration handed down the grant, which is part of more than $968.6 million from the fiscal 2022 Airport Terminal Program for 85 projects nationwide. The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act established the program; it includes $1 billion annually over five years.
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Several Michigan school districts will receive more than $400,000 in funding to change their mascots, according to a Native American Heritage Fund (NAHF) press release.
NAHF, which receives some of Michigan’s gaming revenue, is giving $411,438 out of $480,000 in grants to four districts with mascots that depict Native Americans, according to a press release from the fund. Each school district will receive the funds for its transformation in August.
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The Hard Rock Bristol Casino is opening its temporary location on Friday — the first casino to be opened in Virginia after the General Assembly legalized casinos with five prospective host cities in 2020. The casino has already hosted invitation-only events in Bristol on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, including a Thursday event at the Bristol Motor Speedway for casino employees.
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Akron, OH’s Democrat-controlled City Council issued a statement this week lamenting the death of 25-year-old Jayland Walker while resisting prejudgement of the police officers’ who shot him.
Some Ohio Democrats, like their party’s state House caucus, continue to react differently, deciding the shooting lacked justification even before an external investigation concludes.
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Wisconsin GOP gubernatorial candidate Kevin Nicholson opted to suspend his campaign for the position, roughly six months after entering the race.
When detailing the reason for his decision, Nicholson said the only way forward was for his campaign to launch negative attacks against his opponents, which he refused.
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A group of Bloomington residents have filed a petition with the city clerk to initiate the process of repealing ranked-choice voting (RCV) in the city.
Voters in Minnesota’s fourth-largest city voted in favor of transitioning to the ranked-choice voting system in November 2020. The measure passed by two percentage points, but turnout was reportedly above 85%.
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Pennsylvania’s House of Representatives this week passed a bill barring municipalities from adopting measures that restrict the use of natural gas or other energy sources.
The House approved the legislation by a vote of 117 to 83, with the Republican majority almost entirely supportive. The bill originated in the state Senate, having passed that chamber last October by a vote of 35 to 15. It awaits Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf’s signature or veto.
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The president of the nation’s largest teachers’ union told union delegates at the start of the Representative Assembly (RA) Sunday that 2016 was the year of a “fateful election,” one that made clear the U.S. Supreme Court would become “radicalized.”
In her keynote address Sunday in Chicago, National Education Association (NEA) President Becky Pringle targeted former President Donald Trump for his choices in appointing Supreme Court justices.
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Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody’s (R) office is requesting that the legal fight between pro-abortion groups and the state be fast-tracked to the Florida Supreme Court. The 15-week abortion ban in question, was recently put back into effect after an appeal from the state.
Leon County Circuit Judge John Cooper issued a temporary injunction Tuesday morning to block the law, but the appeal to Cooper’s decision is what led to its reinstatement.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to discuss the lack of transparency in choosing Tennessee’s attorney general and how it currently operates without adhering to the state’s constitution.
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Gov. Doug Ducey (R), whose second term as Arizona’s governor will expire in January, has endorsed his potential replacement.
“She’s a native Arizonan and lifelong Republican who got her start working for President Reagan,” Ducey said of candidate Karrin Taylor Robson.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed State Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) to the newsmaker line to talk about Speaker Pelosi’s lack of communication with Republicans in Congress and her actions to hold President Biden and Alejandro Mayorkas responsible for the invasion at the southern border.
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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) signed legislation Wednesday, which provides a historic $1 billion investment to secure Arizona’s water future.
“This legislation is crucial for our continued growth and prosperity. It will ensure Arizona remains a land of opportunity for families and for businesses large and small,” Ducey said in a press release. “As we’ve done over the past seven and a half years, we came together, brought everyone to the table and delivered for the people of this great state. And by doing so, we are leaving Arizona better and stronger than we found it. I want to thank Senator Sine Kerr [R-Buckeye] and Representative Gail Griffin [R-AZ-14] for sponsoring this legislation and consistently leading on Arizona’s most pressing issues.”
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Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, joined by a bipartisan group of his counterparts in other states, urged action from Congressional leaders on legislation to encourage the production of microchips.
Because of the technological reliance on the product, Yost argued that microchips should become a national priority in order to reduce foreign reliance.
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Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake recently unveiled a new campaign ad showcasing her plans to combat the border crisis if elected governor.
“My border policy is the most aggressive effective border policy this country has ever seen,” Lake told the Arizona Sun Times via text. “A couple of the sheriffs in Texas are finally understanding it and pushing the remedy that is right there in the constitution. When the federal government fails us in their duty to protect us under article 4 section 4, we have the remedy in article 1 section 10 of the constitution to protect our own citizens and stop the invasion.”
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed to the newsmaker line Jenny Beth Martin, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots and columnist for The Washington Times, to the newsmaker line to discuss the recent EPA ruling, principles of the Tea Party movement, and the importance of a strong state attorney general.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to speculate on whether or no the 2022 Republican Convention will crown Nashville as the host city of choice as security concerns rise from Metro Council members.
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Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ-05) recently sent a letter to US Attorney General Merrick Garland, questioning the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) seemingly unfair treatment of Trump-era immigration judges amid a historic border crisis.
“Trump Derangement Syndrome is still widespread within the Biden Administration,” Biggs said in a press release. “The DOJ’s abrupt firing of well-qualified immigration judges during an unprecedented border crisis—likely because they were appointed by President Trump—is unacceptable.”
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The 2022-23 K-12 school year begins in less than two months and Florida school districts are facing teacher shortages.
As of this week, Duval County Public Schools reported 529 vacancies for certified teachers, up 23% — nearly 100 positions — compared to the start of last school year. This year’s vacancies are almost double the number Duval saw at the beginning of 2020-21 school year.
In addition, Orange County Public Schools lists over 200 K-12 teacher openings and Brevard County Public Schools lists 235 teacher vacancies.
And while the numbers are daunting they should not be surprising.
According to surveys by the Florida Education Association(FEA), the number of teacher vacancies have increased a 104% since August 2019. In August 2019, the FEA reported there were 2,135 advertised positions. This number increased to 2,962 in August 2020 and ballooned to 4,359 by January 2022.
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Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio to discuss the unavailability of Tennessee Supreme Court Justic Jeffrey Bivins to be interviewed as the retention election draws near.
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The recently-passed Virginia budget for fiscal years 2023-2024 includes legislation delaying implementation of state bans on polystyrene for five years. The ban, sponsored by Delegate Betsy Carr (D-Richmond) required large food vendors to stop using the packaging material by July 2023, and all vendors by July 2025. But those deadlines are now July 2028 and July 2030, respectively.
After the ban’s final passage in 2021 under Democratic control, Virginia earned praise for its position from environmental groups. At the time, restaurant lobbyists warned that restaurants needed the containers amid an increase in takeout due to COVID-19. At the same time then-Governor Ralph Northam signed the bill, he also signed a ban on executive branch agencies using single-use plastics, which was reversed this year by Governor Glenn Youngkin.
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The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Thursday that the state’s ban on name changes for people on the sex offender registry still applied to a transgender offender seeking to adopt a female name, according to The Associated Press.
The sex offender, referred to only as “Ella” in court records, was six feet and five inches tall and over 300 pounds at fifteen years old when he was convicted of sexually assaulting a disabled 14-year-old boy, according to the AP. Seven years later, the offender now identifies as a transgender woman and is seeking to legally adopt a female name and dodge the sex offender registry.
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