Miyares Leads Letter Warning Google Against Removing Crisis Pregnancy Centers from Results for Abortion Services

Attorney General Jason Miyares and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron sent a letter to Google warning the search engine not to remove crisis pregnancy centers from search results for abortion services.

“Google has two options – protect the freedom of the marketplace of ideas or face legal consequences. American consumers expect diversity of opinion and thought,” Miyares said in a Thursday press release.

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Mark Brnovich Announces $4.5 Million in Funding for Treating Opioid Addiction and Mental Health in the Criminal Justice System

Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R) announced Thursday that the Arizona Attorney General’s Office (AGO) had awarded $4,500,000 in grant funding to three counties across Arizona to help treat those with opioid addiction or mental health issues in the criminal justice system.

“Our primary goal with these grants is to increase inmate screening and treatment for underlying substance abuse and mental health conditions,” Brnovich said in a press release. “Effectively addressing opioid disorders will ultimately reduce recidivism rates among treated offenders.”

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OB/GYN Dr. Christina Francis: ‘Abortion Supporters Have No Scientific Evidence’ to Back Up Their Position

Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last month, the abortion industry and its allies in the media and the medical field “are having to defend their actual position” regarding their claim that women are in danger as a result of the ruling, but “have no scientific evidence to back it up,” leaving them to “rely on spreading” lies, OB/GYN Dr. Christina Francis told The Star News Network in an interview Thursday.

Francis, a board member and CEO-elect of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), testified Tuesday before the House Committee on Energy & Commerce in a Democrat-led hearing titled “Roe Reversal: The Impacts of Taking Away the Constitutional Right to an Abortion.”

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Commentary: The Bullish Meaning of Hyundai and Kia Cars Everywhere You Look

The next time you’re in traffic, stop and look at the cars surrounding you. If on a city street, also look at the cars passing you as they go in the opposite direction. In a sense it’s fascinating.

Doing this the other day on the Key Bridge (it connects Washington, D.C. and Arlington, VA), the variety of cars was really something. Mostly foreign cars. Lots of Mercedes and BMWs, numerous Toyota, Honda and Nissan vehicles, and somewhat surprisingly, countless Kia and Hyundai models. About the surprise expressed, it’s remarkable how quickly the twin Korean brands have built enormous market share in the world’s greatest car market.

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TN-5 Candidate Tres Wittum Slams Opponent Andy Ogles’ ‘Lack of Transparency’

State Senate aide and TN-5 candidate in the August 4 Republican primary Tres Wittum slammed his opponent Andy Ogles for the job he’s done as Maury County mayor and for “his lack of transparency” in failing to disclose his campaign finances. 

“I’ve heard the quote believe people when they tell you who they are. Andy Ogles has not done his job as mayor, Andy Ogles makes outrageous claims that probably are not backed up, and lastly his lack of transparency isn’t surprising with his FEC report,” said Wittum.

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Georgia Students Improve on Standardized Testing, According to New Data

Students across the state of Georgia improved their scores on standardized tests, as educators seek to improve learning loss caused by lockdowns and online learning amid the coronavirus pandemic.

According to new data from the Georgia Department of Education, scores remained the same or increased on 17 of 21 assessments, when compared to the results of the previous year.

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Andrew Gillum Raids Campaign Funds to Pay $440K for Defense Lawyers

Andrew Gillum’s political action committee (PAC) from his failed bid for Florida governor recently paid his Miami lawyers $440,181, according to reports filed with the Division of Elections.

Gillum was indicted in June on multiple charges connected to campaign contribution fraud before and during his 2018 run for governor of Florida. The 21 count indictment includes conspiracy charges, wire fraud and making false statements.

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SCOTUS Blocks Biden Admin’s Attempt to Limit Immigration Enforcement

The Supreme Court blocked a Biden administration effort to limit Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrests in a decision Thursday.

The 5-4 decision placed a national freeze on a September 2021 Biden administration memo that sought to tighten the scope of civil immigration arrests to threats to national security, border security and public safety. A judge in the Southern District of Texas vacated the guidelines in June.

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Russia, Ukraine Reach Grain Export Deal as Food Crisis Worsens

Russia and Ukraine reached an agreement Friday to resume safe passage of grain as fears of global food insecurity spread.

Turkey and the United Nations (UN) mediated negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, hostile after months of brutal fighting, to reopen black sea ports from the Russian blockade, The Wall Street Journal reported. Disruption of Ukrainian grain exports has exacerbated a worldwide food shortage, and UN leaders have warned that soaring fertilizer and food prices will reach crisis levels in the next two years.

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Kari Lake Accuses Karrin Taylor Robson of Tricking ‘a Record’ 1,200 Plus Mostly Elderly People into Donations, Including Autorenewals

Republican Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who is leading the GOP primary race, accused opponent Karrin Taylor Robson of tricking elderly Arizonans into donating to her campaign by pretending the money would go for “Trump, Truth Social & the Wall.” She also accused the mostly self-funded candidate, who is the other main contestant left in the primary, of fooling donors into committing to automatically renewing their donations each month. 

In a video, Lake holds up over 1,000 pages of “potential victims.” She said she is warning retirees or those married to a retiree about “a fundraising ploy that they could have very likely gotten caught up in, especially if they are patriotic and worried about the direction this country is going.” She went on, “Thousands and thousands of Americans, most of them retirees, most of them living on Social Security, got tricked into donating to my opponent in one of those recurring donation schemes.” 

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Former President Trump Touts Kari Lake, Blake Masters in Arizona Speech

Former President Donald Trump touted Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake and U.S. Senate candidate Blake Masters at his rally in Prescott Valley.

The event, which attracted hundreds of supporters to the arena, featured speeches from former Director of National Intelligence Ric Grenell, Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb, and Arizona Republican Party Chair Kelli Ward—in addition to multiple candidates.

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U.S. State Department Funded Film Fest Depicting Incest and Pedophilic Content

The State Department spent $10,000 taxpayer dollars to fund an international LGBTQ+ film festival featuring incest and pedophilic content, according to the Washington Free Beacon.

The film festival in Portugal, Queer Lisboa showed films featuring incest and a minor having sex with an adult as apart of the Biden administration’s “support LGBTQ+ and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Accessibility efforts,” according to the Washington Free Beacon. The State Department sent $10,000 as apart of the international initiative.

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Tennessee Woman Headed to Prison After Terror-Related Crimes

A Tennessee woman is headed to federal prison stemming from a conviction involving crimes related to aiding terrorist organizations. 

“A Sparta, Tennessee, woman was sentenced in U.S. District Court on Friday, to 66 months in prison to be followed by a term of supervised release of 15 years, for concealing material support and resources intended to be provided to a Foreign Terrorist Organization…” according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee. 

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Faith and Freedom Coalition Director Timothy Head Says Pro-Life Movement Is in ‘A Little Bit of Shock’ over Roe v. Wade Decision

Faith and Freedom Coalition Executive Director Timothy Head told The Tennessee Star he feels that the pro-life movement is still a little surprised about the overturning of Roe v. Wade. 

“There’s certainly an excitement and energy around this. In some ways I almost feel like the collective pro-life movement is still in a little bit of shock. A lot of people have been active in the movement since they were in elementary school, middle school, or their entire adult lives,” he said.

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Nikki Fried Announces Support of a Reparations Bill in Florida If Elected Governor

During a campaign interview with hip-hop legend Luther Luke Campbell and others, Florida gubernatorial candidate Nikki Fried said, if she was elected governor, she would support reparations legislation like the bill recently adopted in California.

Stephen Johnson, 100 Black Men of South Florida Past Chair and member of the Miami-Dade Black Affairs Advisory Board, told Fried that he could not find her position on reoperations in any of her campaign materials. Johnson then asked if signing a reparations task force legislation be something she would do if she became governor of Florida. 

Fried responded, “Yes, of course it would be. I think this are hard conversations to have but we have to have them.”

Fried then went on to discuss the Groveland Four, who were four young African American men falsely accused of raping 17-year-old girl and assaulting her husband on July 16, 1949, in Lake County, Florida. Fried was a member of the Florida Cabinet who joined in issuing posthumous pardons of the four men on Jan. 11, 2019.

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Michigan Gov. Whitmer Signs $54 Billion Operating Budget

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer signed a $54 billion operating budget that, combined with the 2023 education budget, reaches a record annual spending of $77 billion.

“Today, I am thrilled to sign my fourth balanced, bipartisan state budget that delivers on the kitchen-table issues that matter most to working families, was done on time, and does not raise taxes by a dime,” Whitmer said in a statement. “The budget will protect public health and public safety, expand mental health resources, grow Michigan’s economy and workforce, empower working families and communities, and pays down billions in debt.”

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Court Rules Georgia Heartbeat Law May Take Effect

A three-judge panel of a federal appeals court ruled unanimously Wednesday that Georgia’s 2019 Heartbeat law that bans abortions once a fetal heartbeat is detected may take effect.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ruled the Georgia law (HB 481), known as the Living Infants Fairness and Equality (LIFE) Act may proceed to take effect after a federal judge blocked it in a decision that found the law violated the right to abortion created by the U.S. Supreme Court in Roe v. Wade in 1973.

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Wisconsin Lawmakers: Rule of Law, Not Elections Commission Guides Absentee Ballot Rules

The long battle between Republican lawmakers and Wisconsin’s Elections Commission is not showing any signs of ending.

The latest came Wednesday when the legislature’s Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules killed an emergency rule from the Elections Commission that would have allowed local election clerks to correct mistakes on voters’ absentee ballots, a process otherwise known as curing.

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Doug Ducey Responds to East Coast Mayors Requesting Aid for Increase in Immigrants, ‘Welcome to Our World’

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) recently responded to statements made by mayors from Eastern America, including New York City’s (NYC) Mayor Eric Adams (D), who have requested help after an influx of immigrants from the Southern border.

“President Biden created the crisis at the border — he’s failed to respond to calls for action and refuses to even visit the border, so we’re bringing the issue a little closer to home for him,” Ducey tweeted.

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Grassroots Ohio GOP Group Responds to Committeeman and Treasurer Johnson’s Injunction Against Opponent

As he runs for reelection in the August 2 special primary, Ohio Republican Party (ORP) Committeeman David Johnson is suing Rick Barron who is challenging his bid to continue representing the ORP’s 33rd District (Columbiana, Carroll and Mahoning counties). 

Also in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court, Johnson sued political action committees that support Barron, including the Mahoning, Carroll and Columbiana Ohio Republican Political Action Committees (PACs). These three grassroots organizations are affiliates of the Ohio Republican PAC which exists outside the ORP, also known as the Ohio Republican State Central Committee. 

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Virginia Finished Fiscal Year 2022 with $1.94 Billion Surplus

Virginia’s Fiscal Year 2022 General Fund revenues finished with a $1.94 billion surplus, after finishing Fiscal Year 2021 with a $2.6 billion surplus, the largest in Virginia’s history.

“While I am pleased that our additional revenue can be reinvested in Virginia, the Commonwealth’s general fund revenue surplus confirms that Virginians have been overtaxed for way too long,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Thursday evening announcement of the 2022 surplus.

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Concerns Arise over Envelopes Containing Ballots Mailed to Maricopa County Voters That Reveal Political Party in Clear Window

Envelopes containing ballots sent to voters in Maricopa County last week contained a small square with clear plastic on the top left side revealing part of the ballot. The political party of the ballot can clearly be seen in the window, and in some cases, it appears individuals’ voter registration numbers as well. Concerns have been raised that renegade postal workers or election workers might throw Republican ballots out before they reach voters.

State Rep. Jacqueline Parker (R-Mesa) tweeted, “The post office doesn’t need to know this information. The Recorder’s office is being awfully cavalier & open with personal information in a time when people already don’t trust the mail or AZ’s voting systems.” 

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Florida Republican Congressional Delegation Split on ‘Gay Marriage’ Vote

Earlier this week, Florida’s Republican Congressional Delegation were split on the passage of H.B. 8404 entitled the “Respect for Marriage” Act. The impetus for the bill is out of fear from left-leaning lawmakers that the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) might overturn the landmark Obergefell v. Hodges case which struck down marriage laws across the country in 2015.

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Wall Street Is Freaking Out About One Major Recession Indicator

Wall Street investors and economists are sounding the alarm over a yield curve inversion, one of the most reliable indicators that a recession is coming, according to The New York Times.

The yield curve inversion, or when two-year bonds have a higher return than ten-year bonds, hit its largest spread yet on Wednesday, sending investors into a panic, according to the NYT. Economists and investors see this kind of inversion as a negative omen for the economy, and every recession in the U.S. in the last 50 years has been preceded by a yield curve inversion.

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Joe Biden Hits New Low of 31 Percent Approval in New Quinnipiac Poll, Only 19 Percent of Hispanics Approve

Joe Biden has hit a new low in the latest Quinnipiac University National Poll, with a mere 31 percent of Americans approving of the job he’s doing, and 60 percent disapproving.

The new poll, released today, shows Biden with only 29 percent approval among white voters, and with an even lower approval rating of 19 percent among Hispanics. Most black voters approved of Biden’s job performance, giving him a 61 percent approval rating.

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Commentary: Senior Biden Officials Are Entangled in Durham’s Criminal Russiagate Probe

Several individuals connected to a 2016 Hillary Clinton campaign plot to cast Donald Trump as a covert Kremlin collaborator are working in high-level jobs within the Biden administration – including at least two senior Biden appointees cited by Special Counsel John Durham in his “active (and) ongoing” criminal investigation of the scheme, according to recently filed court documents.

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Most Companies Quiet on Abortion After Roe Overturned

Most U.S. companies aren’t making public statements about the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade June 24 in its decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, a Conference Board survey found.

Only 8% of U.S. companies have made public statements about the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe, and another 2% plan to make a statement, according to the survey. Most companies in the survey had made public statements about social issues since 2020, with 61% addressing racial equality, 44% addressing LGBT issues, 40% addressing COVID-19 and vaccines and 30% addressing gender equality.

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Thousands of Virginian Servicemembers Eligible for Restitution, Debt Forgiveness After Alleged Fraud by Harris Jewelry

Some Virginian servicemembers are set to get restitution and debt forgiveness after Harris Jewelry allegedly targeted the military community with deceptive and fraudulent practices. Attorney General Jason Miyares announced a multi-state settlement that will provide up to about $1 million for 3,828 Virginians who received protection plans, and $1.7 million in debt forgiveness for 1,011 Virginians.

“Harris Jewelry targeted our military community, misleading, deceiving, and defrauding thousands of active duty servicemembers through their financing program. Our servicemembers are critical to the American experiment, dedicating their lives to the protection of our freedoms and way of life. I’m grateful we were able to reach an agreement and provide relief to thousands of Virginians,” Miyares said in a Wednesday press release.

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Mark Gonsalves Challenges Opponent Lucy McBath on Bidenomics

Georgia 7th Congressional District Republican Nominee, Mark Gonsalves, recently confronted his general election opponent, former 6th Congressional District Representative Lucy McBath, on Twitter for her history of supporting Bidenomics.

Georgia 7th Congressional District Candidate Mark Gonsalves spoke with The Georgia Star News on Thursday.

“I understand economics and business and this inflationary environment we’re in is because the government has turned its back on good fiscal governance. They think that they can return our nation to Energy Dependance and tax and spend their way to prosperity. In the process because of their limitless spending, it’s created an incredible level of inflation we haven’t seen for 40 years,” Gonsalves said.

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Copper Foil Manufacturer to Invest $430 Million in Richmond County Facility

A high-quality electrodeposited (ED) copper foil manufacturer Denkai America announced Wednesday in a joint statement with Governor Brian Kemp that it will invest $430 million in a Richmond County-based facility that will create 250 jobs over the next five years.

“As Georgia continues to lead in the emerging electric vehicle market & next-gen jobs, I’m proud to announce that Denkai America will invest $430M & create 250 new jobs over the next five years in Richmond County through its new manufacturing facility and North American Headquarters!” Kemp said. 

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Tennessee Supreme Court Justice Biography Series: Justice Roger Page

As Tennesseeans prepare to head to the polls on August 4, where they will vote on whether to retain the state’s five Supreme Court justices, The Tennessee Star is profiling each justice who currently sits on the bench.

Justice Roger Page was first appointed to the Court by former Governor Bill Haslem (R) in 2016. He is the Court’s newest member. In August of that year, Page was elected to serve a full term, until 2022. 

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Newly Drawn House District 35 Republican Primary Includes a Former Registered Democrat and an Out-of-District Candidate

The Sumner and Trousdale County newly drawn Tennessee House District 35 Republican primary is a three-way race with one of the candidates being a registered Democrat in another state and another living out of the district.

The State House District 35 seat was held by conservative Republican Representative Jerry Sexton until the recent redistricting, which put Sexton in House District 10 currently held by Representative Rick Eldridge (R-Morristown). The new District 35 encompasses the portions of Sumner and Trousdale Counties that has been represented by Terri Lynn Weaver (R-Lancaster).

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Study: One in Five New Tennesseans from California

As Tennessee experiences a massive influx of new residents from across the country, a study found that one state in particular is a popular feeder for the Volunteer State. 

“Our 2022 data shows that California is the largest contributor to Tennessee’s population increase,” according to a MoveBuddha study. “Nearly a quarter (22.14%) of all search queries for moves into Tennessee are from the Golden State.”

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House Passes ‘Right to Contraception’ Bill Republicans Say Violates Religious Freedom

The Democrat-led House passed a bill Thursday, with the support of eight Republicans, that would create a federal right to access contraception, a measure that most Republicans say violates religious freedom.

The legislation (HR 8373), dubbed the Right to Contraception Act and sponsored by Rep. Kathy Manning (D- NC), passed by a vote of 228-195. The measure would guarantee a right to all contraceptive drugs and devices, as well as sterilization procedures, approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

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