Star News Network Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren shares her Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast for Monday and into Tuesday.
Read the full storyYour Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren for Monday and Tuesday
Day: July 11, 2022
Exclusive: Beth Harwell’s Campaign for TN-5 Releases ‘Back the Blue’ Plan
In an exclusive statement obtained by The Tennessee Star on Sunday, former Speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives Beth Harwell’s campaign in the August 4 Republican primary contest for TN-5 announced her “Back the Blue” plan to support police and law enforcement.
Harwell’s six point plan calls for funding law enforcement officers and making sure they have the resources and training they need to fight crime.
Read the full storyExclusive: Mission America Foundation Announces Fundraising Effort for Tennessee National Guard Soldiers Who Refused COVID-19 Vaccine
In an exclusive statement obtained by The Tennessee Star, the Mission America Foundation announced on Monday that they are beginning the effort to raise funds for Tennessee National Guard Soldiers who lost wages and jobs due to their refusal of the COVID-19 vaccine.
“The Mission America Foundation and the Mission America PAC are proud to be joining forces to help in the effort led by Captain Mickey Shelton, Tennessee National Guard members, and their families to ensure that no TN Guard members are financially harmed or left without a job due to the mandate of the Biden Administration denying their right to medical freedoms from the COVID 19 vaccine,” said Mission America Foundation Chair Aaron Spradlin.
Read the full storyVK Integrated Systems Relocating Manufacturing Operations from California to Clarksville, Tennessee
VK Integrated Systems (VKIS) announced Friday that the company will invest $840,000 to relocate its manufacturing operations from Fullerton, California, to Clarksville, Tennessee by breaking ground on the new manufacturing site in Montgomery County.
Read the full storyCarrie Sheffield Commentary: Biden’s Dizzying Energy Policy Is Even Making Climate Warriors Scratch Their Heads
You’d think after achieving $5 a gallon nationwide gas prices and gutting domestic oil and gas producers, America’s environmental extremists would be elated and emboldened. But President Joe Biden’s energy policy is so incoherent, even Green New Deal socialists are frustrated, according to reporting by Politico’s Zack Colman.
“The climate advocates who cheered President Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House last year are preparing to give up on Washington,” Colman writes. “Instead, environmentalists and many of their Democratic allies are starting to shift their focus to state capitals as the places to press for action on climate change — going back to a strategy that they employed with some success during the Trump era.”
Read the full storyGroup of Williamson County Parents Sue School District over Alleged Critical Race Theory Material
A group of Williamson County parents filed a lawsuit against Williamson County Schools, alleging a violation of the state’s ban on Critical Race Theory teachings.
Parents’ Choice Tennessee, a group started by James and Patricia Lucente, filed the suit in Franklin and pointed to the district’s use of “Wit & Wisdom” materials.
Read the full storyMichigan Agency Reopens Record in Line 5 Tunnel Case
The Michigan Public Service Commission on Thursday ordered the record reopened in Enbridge Energy LP’s application to relocate Line 5 into a tunnel buried beneath the Straits of Mackinac.
The MPSC noted the record as it currently stands lacks critical engineering and safety data.
Read the full storyKari Lake Calls Out Fellow Republican Karrin Taylor Robson as Only GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Who Says There Was Not Election Fraud in 2020
Election fraud is an important issue to Republican voters, but one of the Republican candidates for governor does not believe there was any fraud in the 2020 presidential election. During the PBS GOP gubernatorial primary debate last week, Trump-endorsed Kari Lake asked for a show of hands from the other three candidates regarding whether the 2020 election was “corrupt” and “stolen.” Only Karrin Taylor Robson did not raise her hand.
Instead, Robson tried to duck the question, responding, “I’m not going to play your stunt.” Moderator Ted Simons asked the candidates to explain why they believed the election was “rigged, stolen, or whatever the phrase might be.” Lake expounded, “It was corrupt and stolen. I’ve looked at the evidence, we did a forensic audit.”
Read the full storyOhio Democrats Seek Preservation of Records in Connection with FirstEnergy
Ohio Democratic Party (ODP) Chairwoman Elizabeth Walters last week filed a preliminary injunction seeking assurance that Gov. Mike DeWine (R) will preserve all records pertaining to House Bill 6 as an ODP lawsuit goes forward.
The legislation, which DeWine signed into law in July 2019, created a $1.3 billion bailout for the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear-power plants operated by FirstEnergy Corp. Federal prosecutors have alleged that GOP former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and numerous other individuals, including erstwhile Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges, participated in a $61 million bribery scheme to effect the subsidies.
Read the full storyLawmaker Slams Probation Sentence for State Capitol Vandal
One Republican state lawmaker is furious with the sentence received by one of the rioters who destroyed two State Capitol statues during Madison’s violent protests in 2020.
Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, on Thursday said the probation sentence handed down in the case is insulting.
Read the full storyLinking Ohio Courts, Law Enforcement Will Protect Public: Gov. DeWine
Law enforcement agencies and courts throughout Ohio can now be part of a new statewide criminal justice database that Gov. Mike DeWine believes will lead to better public protection and help stop the illegal purchase of firearms.
DeWine said Ohio’s new eWarrants system, which he officially announced the launch of late Wednesday, should improve the accuracy of state and federal background checks and streamline the process to fire warrants and protection orders.
Read the full storyPennsylvania Governor Signs Budget
Gov. Tom Wolf (D) on Friday signed Pennsylvania’s $45 billion budget for Fiscal Year 2022-23.
The governor and Republican-controlled legislature were only able to agree to the fiscal blueprint a week after the June 30 deadline. Revenues covering budget items include $42.8 billion in state taxpayer dollars and $2 billion in federal money.
Read the full storyGeorgia State Lawmaker Pitches Private Company’s Casting Call for Films to Be Made in Savannah
A state lawmaker is helping a private company find actors and actresses during an open casting call event for a trio of Savannah-based film projects.
On Tuesday, the Georgia Media Services Office distributed a media advisory on behalf of Rep. Carl Gilliard, D-Savannah. Gilliard is partnering with Bill Marinella Casting to potentially cast actors and actresses in roles on “Fear the Walking Dead,” “Cave Dweller” and “Pax.”
Read the full storyMusic Spotlight: Karine Hannah
The incomparable pop diva, Karine Hannah, turns rock ballads on their heads with her unique twists on the songs. Her voice evokes emotion like none other as is evinced in her latest single, “Hysteria.”
Read the full storyGino Bulso Campaign Releases Poll Results Showing Large Lead in House District 61 Race
Gino Bulso’s campaign in the August 4 Republican primary for House District 61 released poll results to The Tennessee Star on Sunday which show that he has a nearly 30 percent lead over his opponent.
“The international, awarding winning political polling firm Cygnal has just released the results of its poll, conducted June 16-21 that shows conservative candidate Gino Bulso with a commanding lead over Republican primary opponent Bob Ravener in the state house race for District 61 in Williamson County. Bulso currently leads the
race 46.3% to 17%, with 36.8% still undecided,” said Bulso’s campaign in a statement.
Youngkin Appears on ‘Face the Nation’ Amid Wave of National Speculation About 2024 Presidential Run
Governor Glenn Youngkin discussed a 15-week abortion ban, inherently divisive concepts, the U.S. Supreme Court, same-sex marriage, the 2020 elections, and a potential 2024 presidential campaign in a Sunday appearance on CBS’ Face the Nation after Vice President Kamala Harris’ interview aired on the show. That’s part of a recent wave of national media focusing on Youngkin with speculation about 2024, and comes the day after he spoke to the Nebraska GOP convention.
At the end of the interview, host Robert Costa asked Youngkin if he was mulling a presidential run.
“That’s not a decision that we have even begun to undertake. The reality of course is I’ve been in- I’ve been governor of Virginia for six months, we’ve got an extraordinary amount done. $4 billion tax cuts, a record budget for education, $400 million into law enforcement to raise salaries and keep our community safe. This is where I’m focused,” Youngkin said.
Read the full storyRichmond Police Thwart Terrorist Plot by Men in U.S. Illegally
The Richmond Police Department thwarted a mass shooting of Virginians on July 4 by two men who were in the U.S. illegally. Their plans, which were unknown to the Department of Homeland Security – the agency tasked with preventing terrorist attacks – were thwarted by an anonymous tipster who called the police.
Republican Gov. Glen Youngkin called the tipster a “hero.”
Read the full storyAmid Biden DOJ Deprioritization of Beijing’s IP Theft, Blinken Set to Meet Chinese Counterpart
When Secretary of State Antony Blinken meets with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the Indonesian island of Bali on Saturday, the FBI will likely be in the process of launching a new probe into Chinese espionage against the U.S. — if it hadn’t already done so earlier in the day.
That’s based on an estimate by FBI Director Christopher Wray, who on Wednesday said his agency opens counterintelligence investigations into China roughly every 12 hours.
Read the full storyBuddy Carter Commentary: Democrats’ Heads Are in the Clouds When It Comes to Lowering Drug Prices
Republicans have a plan to combat high prescription drug prices, without reverting to socialist price controls.
When I was a practicing pharmacist, I witnessed seniors trying to decide whether to pay for their medicine or pay for their groceries. I witnessed mothers crying because they couldn’t afford their children’s medicine.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Funnels Taxpayer Dollars into ‘Programming Curriculum’ for Transgender Inmates
The Department of Justice invested almost $1.5 million of taxpayer dollars into a “transgender programming curriculum” focused on transgender inmates’ needs.
The curriculum is designed to help transgender inmates with their gender “identity,” sexual health and safety, according to a summary of the government contract. Though it’s unclear if the curriculum has been implemented, the program could be available for up to 1,200 transgender inmates, according to Justice Department estimates.
Read the full storyInspector General: ‘DHS Could Do More to Address Threats of Domestic Terrorism’
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security “could do more to address the threats of domestic terrorism,” the Office of Inspector General concluded in a newly published report. The findings come after DHS has acknowledged that at least 50 people on the terrorist watch list have entered the U.S. illegally through the southern border since President Joe Biden has been in office.
The OIG found that DHS doesn’t have “staff dedicated to long term oversight and coordination of its efforts to combat domestic terrorism” and unless it puts in place “a cohesive long-term approach,” the agency charged with preventing terrorism “may not be able to proactively prevent and protect the Nation from this evolving threat.”
Read the full storySeveral Candidates for State House Call for Action to Help National Guard Soldiers Keep Their Jobs
Several candidates for state house districts called on Governor Lee, Attorney General Slatery, and the General Assembly to take action in order to help the Tennessee National Guard soldiers who refused to comply with the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Gino Bulso, a candidate for the Tennessee House of Representatives, District 61, released a statement supporting the members of the Tennessee Army National Guard, more than 500 of whom entered a no-pay status, along with the loss of their health insurance and life insurance benefits simply because they decided not to take the COVID-19 vaccine.
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