Watch The Tennessee Star Evening News Update with Michael Patrick Leahy weekdays at 5pm and on demand.
Read the full storyThe Tennessee Star Evening News Update – July 19, 2022
Day: July 19, 2022
Your Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren for Tuesday Night and Wednesday
Star News Network Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren shares her Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast for Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Read the full storyJames Madison Performer Gives His Take on ‘Parity’ at Montpelier
Neil W. McCabe, the national political editor of The Star News Network, interviewed John Douglas Hall, a historical performer of “Father of the Constitution” James Madison about the changes at the museum at the president’s home, Montpelier.
Read the full storyGulbransen Joins Host Leahy to Talk Tennessee AG Selection Process and Call for Governor Lee’s Pick, Gibson to State Her Case
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to talk about the AG selection in the state of Tennessee and the unanswered calls for comment by Governor Lee’s alleged pick for new AG, Brandon Gibson. Leahy and Gulbransen later called for Gibson to come on the show and state her case.
Read the full storySouth Central GOP Vice Chair Raphaela Keohane Describes Why Charter Amendment 1 Is Bad for Registered Davidson County Voters
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed grassroots activist and Vice Chair of the South central region of Davidson County Republican chapter Raphaela Keohane in the studio to talk about how bad the Amendment One initiative is for registered voters in the county.
Read the full storyHosts Leahy and Gulbransen Question Whether TN-5 Candidate Kurt Winstead Is Propping Up Cash on Hand
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to speculate whether or not TN5 candidate Kurt Winstead’s campaign is propping up cash on hand based on recent financial reporting.
Read the full storyHosts Leahy and Gulbransen Discuss TN-5 Candidate Andy Ogles’ Failure to File Second-Quarter Financial Report for Campaign
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed official guest host Aaron Gulbransen in-studio to discuss why TN5 candidate Mayor Andy Ogles of Maury County failed to file his second-quarter report for his campaign.
Read the full storyFederal Judge Upholds Tennessee Trans Sports Ban
A federal judge in Tennessee Friday granted a temporary injunction on behalf of the state of Tennessee, which was caught in a legal entanglement with President Joe Biden’s administration on the subject of transgender sports.
“As it currently stands, plaintiffs must choose between the threat of legal consequences – enforcement action, civil penalties, and the withholding of federal funding – or altering their state laws to ensure compliance with the guidance and avoid such adverse action,” Judge Charles Atchley, a 2020 appointee of former President Donald Trump, said in granting Tennessee’s motion for an injunction against the federal government.
Read the full storySen. Blackburn Reacts to Sen. Warren’s Call to Shut Down All Pregnancy Centers
A U.S. Senator from Tennessee Friday reacted to a call from a colleague to shut down all pregnancy centers in the United States.
“Elizabeth Warren believes each and every pregnancy resource center across the country should be shut down,” said Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “What does the left have against those working to support mother and child?”
Read the full storyVictor Davis Hanson Commentary: Biden and the Destruction of Wisdom
There used to be an agreed-on body of wisdom, which both Left and Right, Republicans and Democrats, generally accepted. Heated arguments and invective centered on implementations and methods of solving problems, which at least both sides agreed were problems. Both ideologies accepted a common core of wisdom, despite their radical differences in interpreting it.
Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, and especially Biden’s strange cabinet of loud Jacobin amateurs, reject the very hallowed knowledge upon which civilization is based. In that sense the public has begun to recognize them as nihilist and anarchist. Nearly two out of three Americans in some polls hold unfavorable views of the Biden Administration. They fear that it is decoupled from both the past and reality, and quite capable of destroying their lives as they have known them.
Read the full storyGov. Whitmer Signs Executive Order to Create Michigan Parents’ Council
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order Friday to establish the Michigan Parents’ Council.
The council’s responsibility is to meet with parents throughout the state, gather their input on a number of themes, topics, strategies and ideas; then act in an advisory role to the state superintendent and governor when relaying information from those discussions.
Read the full storyTeachers’ Union Poll Shows Support for DeSantis’ Education Positions
A national teachers union poll shows that positions adopted by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis are supported by most voters.
During Florida’s 2022 legislative session, DeSantis championed a number of education related bills that his opponents often labeled as extreme. During the session, Equality Florida, a LGBTQ advocacy group, released a television advertisement “blasting” DeSantis over his positions.
However, a battleground-state survey commissioned by the American Teachers Federation shows a majority of voters approve of DeSantis’ education policy positions.
For example, one poll question found that voters, by a 32 percentage-point margin, said they were more likely to vote for candidates who believe public schools should focus less on teaching race and more on core subjects.
DeSantis signed a bill that banned critical race theory in schools.
Another poll question found that voters, by 27 points, said schools should be banned from teaching sexual orientation and gender identity to kids in kindergarten through third grade.
DeSantis signed the Parental Rights in Education bill (SB 1834), which expanded parental rights and limited the discussion of gender related issues in elementary school grades.
And by 28 points, another poll question found that voters agreed that transgender athletes should be banned from competing in girls’ sports.
In June 2021, DeSantis signed signed into law a policy banning transgender athletes from playing girls and women’s sports.
Read the full storyFetterman Condition Prompts Pennsylvania State Senators to Consider State Disability Procedures
Pennsylvania’s Senate State Government Committee on Monday heard expert testimony on possible changes to the state’s rules for handling instances when the governor or lieutenant governor cannot perform his or her duties.
The issue has become especially salient ever since Lt. Gov. John Fetterman (D) suffered a stroke on May 13. He recovered but only gradually returned to his job and to his U.S. Senate campaign. He missed 18 session days as presiding officer of the Pennsylvania Senate, leaving him out of the conclusion of budget deliberations.
Read the full storySenator Bernie Sanders Endorses Wisconsin Senate Candidate Mandela Barnes
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), one of the most progressive members of Congress and former presidential candidate, endorsed Mandela Barnes in his run for U.S. Senate.
Barnes is locked in a primary battle against other Democrats with the goal to challenge GOP Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) in the November general election.
Read the full storyBrooklyn Center Police Chief Says Minneapolis Suburb Needs Help Fighting Crime
Brooklyn Center’s new police chief has taken stock of the crime situation and determined the city “really” needs help.
Chief Kellace McDaniel spoke at a Brooklyn Center City Council meeting last Monday evening after Commander Tony Gruenig presented various statistics on the city’s crime and police staffing levels, CCX Media reported. McDaniel was appointed to his new role three weeks ago after previously serving as a lieutenant in the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
Read the full storyVA-02, 07, 10 Incumbents Hold Lead in Congressional Fundraising; Early Fundraising Gives Preview of Competitive 2023 General Assembly Primaries
Incumbents are leading in fundraising in Virginia’s competitive congressional races, according to new second-quarter reports; Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) has about $4.9 million cash on hand, Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) has about $4.3 million cash on hand, and Representative Jennifer Wexton has about $3.6 million on hand. Luria’s Republican challenger State Senator Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) has $413,279 cash on hand; Wexton’s challenger Hung Cao has $354,183 on hand, and Spanberger challenger Yesli Vega has $246,070, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
Read the full storyBurt Jones Challenges Charlie Bailey on Atlanta Crime Spike
Republican Lieutenant Gubernatorial Candidate, Burt Jones, challenged his Democrat counterpart, Charlie Bailey, on the rise in crime that Atlanta has seen over the past year.
“There have been a record 87 homicides so far this year in Atlanta alone. Charlie Bailey would be a rubber stamp for the same policies that caused this. As Lieutenant Governor I’ll FULLY fund our police & help restore law and order to our streets,” the Trump-endorsed Jones said.
Read the full storyPinal County Voters Will Receive a Second, ‘Municipal Only’ Ballot After 63K Early Ballots Were Sent Out with Errors
In seven municipalities across Pinal County, voters received an early ballot with errors related to city and town elections, and officials recently held a live meeting to discuss what voters should expect from new municipal-only ballots.
“Effective now, impacted voters can go to their local voting site and they can pick up the municipal only ballot, or if you are on the active early voter list, this will automatically be sent to your residence,” said Pinal County Attorney General Kent Volkmer in the meeting recorded by Fox News. “I cannot stress this enough. If you live in any of the seven impacted municipalities, you must fill out both of these ballots.”
Read the full storyU.S. Treasury Greenlights Connecticut’s ARPA Spending Initiative
A plan that would allocate federal funding to small businesses in Connecticut has been approved.
Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont, who is running unopposed on the state’s Aug. 9 primary, said the U.S. Treasury Department has greenlighted the state’s $119.5 million plan to assist small businesses in the state using American Rescue Plan Act funding. The funds will be placed into the State Small Business Credit Initiative.
Read the full storyDeSantis Touts Conservative Track Record at Moms for Liberty Event
Late last week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) spoke at an event in Tampa for the Florida-based Moms for Liberty organization. The group was founded with the intention of empowering “parents to stand up and reclaim their parental rights at all levels of government.”
DeSantis touting his conservative track record and the legislation he has worked on to enhance parental involvement during his last few legislative sessions as governor.
Read the full storyCommentary: Our Incredible, Unbelievable Media
Here is what we’re talking about when we talk about the media “Narrative.”
A 10-year-old girl in Ohio was raped and impregnated. According to the doctor who performed the girl’s abortion in nearby Indiana, the girl could not obtain the procedure in her home state because of a law that cuts off abortions after six weeks. The girl, supposedly, was three days too late to have an abortion in the Buckeye State.
It sounds like the perfect story for the post-Roe era, which is why practically every news outlet on the planet picked it up. See! See, Americans! This is what your Christofascist Supreme Court has done! Are you happy now?
Read the full storyArizona State Legislators Jake Hoffman, Neal Carter, and Warren Petersen Top Republican Liberty Caucus’s 2022 Rankings
The Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona (RLCAZ) released its 2022 rankings of Arizona legislators based on how they voted to advance or restrict liberty, and eight scored a perfect 100 or above. State Rep. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) and State Rep. Neal Carter (R-Casa Grande) tied with 106 for the top scores in the State House, and State Sen. Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) received the highest score in the State Senate, 102.
Hoffman told The Arizona Sun Times, “It’s an honor to be recognized for my efforts to defend liberty. I am humbled to be one of the highest scoring members of the Arizona legislature; however, while I’m grateful for the recognition, it’s not why I, or any of the other top scorers, fight so hard to defend constitutionally limited government. We do it because we take our oath of office and the Constitution seriously. Unlike so many in the swamp, we view elected service as an awesome responsibility to fight for the people we represent at all times, especially when it’s unpopular amongst the political establishment to do so.”
Read the full storyArizona Democratic Party Extends ‘A Warm Thank You to Karrin Taylor Robson for Her Longtime Financial Support to Help Elect Democratic Candidates’
The Arizona Democratic Party (ADP) issued a statement this recently thanking Karrin Taylor Robson for contributing money to Democrats in recent years while a Republican.
“The Arizona Democratic Party would like to extend a warm ‘thank you’ to Karrin Taylor Robson for her longtime financial support to help elect Democratic candidates up and down the ballot,” said the press release. The ADP said Robson is “a big funder of Arizona Democrats, funneling thousands of dollars to Democratic candidates as recently as 2020.”
Read the full storyWyoming U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney Still Trails by Double Digits to Trump-Backed Challenger Harriet Hageman in Upcoming Republican Primary
Wyoming GOP Rep. Liz Cheney is trailing her Trump-endorsed GOP primary challenger by over 20 points, according to a poll released over the weekend.
Ahead of the Aug. 2 primary, challenger Harriet Hageman, a natural resources attorney, leads Cheney 52% to 30%, according to the Casper Star-Tribune poll.
No other Cheney challenger had more than 5% support and just 11% of voters were undecided.
Read the full storyHouse Republicans Blast Biden for Colluding with Left-Wing Groups on Voting Executive Order
Four House Republicans sent a letter Friday to White House Domestic Policy Director Susan Rice and Office of Management and Budget Director Shalanda Young accusing the Biden White House of colluding with progressive voting rights groups and attempting to “usurp state power to nationalize elections and commandeer the voting process to Democrats’ political advantage.”
Read the full storyManufacturing Leaders: American Businesses Face Major Issues Due to Inflationary Pressure
Several manufacturing and business leaders are concerned about how inflationary pressures are hurting businesses through heightened input and transportation costs.
Participants at a round table event on Capitol Hill Thursday said that inflation has increased the cost of raw materials, making it harder for manufacturers to obtain what they need to do business.
Read the full storyVirginia Unfunded Pension Liabilities Could Triple This Year
If investment returns for Virginia’s pension system come in around negative 6%, the commonwealth’s unfunded liabilities could nearly triple for Fiscal Year 2022, according to a report from the Reason Foundation.
Virginia’s unfunded liabilities for FY2021 were slightly less than $6 billion, but early indicators estimate an average negative 6% return on investments for FY2022. If the commonwealth’s returns are at that rate, its unfunded liabilities would increase to slightly more than $17 billion.
Read the full storyDebbie Lesko Slams Recent Democrat Pro-Abortion Laws Which Seek to Provide Nationwide Access to the Procedure
Arizona Rep. Debbie Lesko (R-AZ-08) spoke against the new Democrat pro-abortion House Rules (H.R.), which seek to protect abortion procedures and access to abortions.
“This week, House Democrats rammed through two radical abortion bills, H.R. 8296, the Abortion on Demand Until Birth Act, and H.R. 8297, that are part of their extreme agenda to nationalize abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy,” Lesko said in her newsletter.
Read the full storyJack Miller Center Announces New President, Aggressive National Civics Education Plan
As part of an ambitious, five-year strategic plan to reinvigorate a civic education grounded in American founding principles and history, the Jack Miller Center has named Hans Zeiger as its next president. Zeiger will begin his new role on August 1.
Founded in 2004, the Jack Miller Center is a nonprofit civic education organization based in Philadelphia that works with educators at the secondary school and undergraduate levels to instill thoughtful and engaged citizenship among students.
“Biased, politically motivated perspectives are pouring into the curriculum of our schools unchecked, and parents and citizens are pushing back,” said JMC founder and chairman Jack Miller. “Americans want better civics for their kids, and I believe Hans Zeiger is the right person to lead our national effort.”
Read the full storyEleven Virginia Companies Graduate from Training Program for International Markets
The Virginia Leaders in Export Trade (VALET) program announced 11 graduates on Wednesday, the culmination of a two-year program to help Virginia companies launch into international markets.
“The success of Virginia businesses both at home and broad is key to maintaining a strong and resilient economy,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) press release.
Read the full storyFBI: El Paso Is a Major Human Smuggling, Kidnapping Destination
El Paso, Texas, is a central destination for human smuggling and extortion, the FBI El Paso Field Office warns. The FBI has been issuing warnings and alerts nearly every month this year about kidnapping and extortion crimes occurring in the border town.
Read the full storyGeorgia Among the 20 States Freed from Federal Transgender Sports, Bathroom Guidance
A federal judge in Tennessee ruled in favor of Tennessee, Georgia, and 18 other states in their effort to block federal guidelines on transgender athletes and school locker rooms.
The lawsuit, brought by Tennessee, challenged guidance from the United States Department of Education and Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that would allow athletes who were marked as males on their birth certificates to compete in girls and women’s sports. The federal guidance also would have prohibited student shower and locker room access from being determined by birth gender and provided guidance on required pronoun use.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden National Labor Relations Board Counsel Rewrites Labor Law History
Very soon after being confirmed in a razor-tight U.S. Senate vote last year as general counsel for the powerful National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), Jennifer Abruzzo, formerly a lawyer for the radical Communications Workers of America union, made her agenda plain to all.
Clearly acting on the wishes of the man who nominated her for the job of NLRB general counsel, Big Labor President Joe Biden, Abruzzo broadcast her intention to wield the power of her office to help union officials grab monopoly-bargaining power over millions of additional workers.
Read the full storyNew York City Mayor Eric Adams: ‘We Have a Massive Hemorrhaging of Students’ from Public Schools
New York City public schools are expected to lose nearly 30,000 students by this coming academic year says the city’s Department of Education Office of Student Enrollment, reports the New York Post.
Data from the department show 28,100 fewer students are expected to enroll in city public schools this fall, with another 2,300 fewer students by the end of the academic year, the Post noted, adding, “By the end of next school year, the largest school district in the nation expects to serve a student population of just 760,439 children, the data show.”
Read the full storyCongressman Mark Green Endorses Tennessee House District 63 Candidate Jake McCalmon
Congressman Mark Green (R-TN-07) endorsed Tennessee House District 63 candidate Jake McCalmon in the GOP primary election.
McCalmon will face multiple opponents in the August election, such as Laurie Cardoza-Moore and James Sloan.
Read the full storyTennessee Supreme Court Justice Biography Series: Justice Sarah Campbell
The application period for Tennessee’s next attorney general opened Friday.
In a unique process, unlike in any other state, the position of attorney general is not an elected office in Tennessee. Rather, the person who holds the position is appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Read the full storyTelemundo: Alleged Rapist of 10-Year-Old Confirmed to Be in ‘Domestic Relationship’ with Victim’s Mother
Telemundo confirmed Friday the alleged rapist of a 10-year-old girl who underwent an abortion is in a “domestic relationship” with the victim’s mother who reportedly is also pregnant with his child.
“It is, in fact, a domestic relationship – and there are additional children in the household,” said Jorge Bonilla, director of Media Research Center (MRC) Latino. “Horrendous.”
Read the full storyVanderbilt Index Shows Americans Becoming Slightly Less Politically Polarized, Have More Faith in Institutions
An index created by Vanderbilt University that is used to track political polarization and faith in America’s institutions says that Americans are becoming less polarized, according to the school’s second quarter analysis.
“Americans’ general faith and trust in democracy has stabilized in the first half of 2022, remaining relatively flat throughout the second quarter, according to the most recent Vanderbilt Unity Index,” the school said in a release.
Read the full storySources Say Bill Lee’s COO Brandon Gibson Now Unlikely to Pursue Attorney General Position Due to Negative Reaction
Sources familiar with the political intrigue around the Tennessee Capitol tell The Tennessee Star that Governor Bill Lee’s preferred for choice for Attorney General, Tennessee COO Brandon Gibson, is letting it be known that she’s “now unlikely to even to apply for job.”
“It appears as though – based on how she is presenting this around, that the reception she received when news of her taking over the job was broken and became a topic of public discussion – it has taken the shine off of Gibson wanting to be Tennessee Attorney General and to deal with the legislature and she is no longer sure she wants the job,” said one source on the condition of background.
Read the full storyCommentary: Biden Has Conveniently Forgotten His Role in Explosive Gas Prices
President Joe Biden’s attempts to reduce the cause of high gas prices to the war in Ukraine initially, and corporate greed more recently, are disingenuous.
On day one this president clearly stated his opposition to oil and gas production and development. The president’s words and even more so his actions, have serious impacts on the costs of commodities, including oil.
Read the full story‘An Attack on All Trump Voters’: Elise Stefanik Unloads on ‘Sham’ Jan. 6 Show
Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York slammed the Jan. 6 committee as a “sham” focused on attacking people who voted for former President Donald Trump during a Sunday night appearance on Fox News.
“This is an attack on all Trump voters and really, it’s a partisan attempt by Nancy Pelosi for her hand-picked members of Congress to go after President Trump and all Republicans because they know that they are going to lose at the ballot box this November,” Stefanik told “Life, Liberty & Levin” host Mark Levin.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Reducing Illegal Border Crossing Prosecutions: Report
Prosecutions of illegal border crossings under the Biden administration have significantly decreased amid historically high migrant encounters, according to an internal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) memo The Washington Free Beacon obtained.
There were only 2,896 migrants transferred to the U.S. Marshal’s custody in the 2021 fiscal year, compared to 13,213 during the previous fiscal year and 20,604 in fiscal year 2019, according to the memo.
Read the full storyFauci Says He Plans on Retiring When Biden Leaves Office
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the ubiquitous face of the country’s early pandemic response, says he’s retiring from public service at the end of President Biden’s term.
Fauci has spend over 50 years at the National Institute of Health, including roughly 40 as the director of National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
He told Politico about his plans to retire.
Read the full storyThree Days After FEC Deadline TN-5 Candidate Andy Ogles Has Yet to File Campaign Finance Report
Maury County Mayor Andy Ogles’ campaign for the Republican nomination in the race for Tennessee’s 5th Congressional District seat has yet to file the Federal Election Commission (FEC) second quarter campaign finance report, as of press time.
The deadline to file the report was on July 15. The FEC second-quarter reporting period covers April 1 through June 30.
Read the full storyGoogle Funding Vox Media Effort to Normalize Fringe Gender Theory
Google is funding a Vox Media initiative to promote gender ideology and activist language in newsrooms nationwide, according to an announcement from Vox Media.
The Google News Initiative Innovation Challenge, a project that funds online journalism, is funding Vox Media’s new language guide for writers, “Language, Please,” Vox Media said in an article announcing the publication of the guide. The guide, which is meant to be used by outlets across the country, encourages journalists to avoid gendered words like “boy” and “girl” and links to “inclusivity readers” they can hire to correct their language.
Read the full story19 State Attorney Generals Petition SCOTUS Supporting Lawsuit over Altered Deportation Policy
Nineteen attorneys general, led by Arizona AG Mark Brnovich, filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in a case the Biden administration is fighting after a federal judge in Texas ruled against it last month.
Texas and Louisiana sued over a Department of Homeland Security directive altering deportation policy.
Read the full story