J.C. Bowman of Professional Educators of Tennessee on Williamson County School System’s Insistence That Teachers ‘Stick to a Script’

Thursday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Professional Educators of Tennessee Executive Director and CEO JC Bowman in studio to discuss the implementation of the Instructional Practice Guide for only Williamson County public school teachers forcing teachers to stick to a “script.”

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‘Guns Pointed at Me’: FBI Arrests Father of 11 in Front of His Children for Pro-Life Work

The Federal Bureau of Investigation this week arrested a pro-life father of 11 children, charging him with “conspiracy against rights secured by the FACE Act, and committing FACE Act violations.”

Paul Vaughn of Centerville, Tennessee, told The Daily Signal in a Friday phone interview that FBI came to the door of his home, “guns pointed at the door, banging on the house, yelling and screaming, ‘Open up. FBI,’ that kind of thing. When I opened the door and saw the guns pointed at me, I asked them what they wanted, who they were looking for, and they said they wanted me.”

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FBI to Investigate ‘Hate Speech’ Attack on School That Banned Girls from Their Own Locker Room

The FBI is helping investigate an anti-LGBTQ hate speech attack that occurred on a Vermont school district’s website, according to a Tuesday statement by the superintendent.

The Orange Southwest School District’s website is currently disabled following an Oct. 1 attack to its website which included “hate speech, symbols, and photographs targeting transgender individuals,” according to the VT Digger. The FBI is working to investigate the attack, according to a statement by the superintendent Layne Millington.

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Pfizer Executive Admits COVID Vaccine Was Never Tested for Blocking Transmission of Virus

A top Pfizer international executive admitted to a European Parliament committee Tuesday that the pharmaceutical giant did not test its COVID mRNA shot for whether it could prevent transmission of the virus before it was placed on the market and then mandated in many parts of society throughout the world.

Rob Roos, a member of the European Parliament from the Netherlands, tweeted a video of his exchange with Janine Small, president of international developed markets at Pfizer.

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Teachers’ Union Boss Backs GOP Sen. John Cornyn’s Controversial ‘Civics’ Bill

American Federation of Teachers (AFT) President Randi Weingarten announced her endorsement of a federal “civics education” bill sponsored by Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), one that the National Association of Scholars (NAS) observed “is more an attempt to smuggle activist training into American K-12 classrooms than it is a good-faith effort to improve civic literacy.”

Weingarten began her column at Newsweek last week with a call for renewed civics education that is all entangled with her view that Donald Trump “and his cronies ran roughshod over the principles most of us learned in grade school.”

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Obama’s ‘Democracy Forum’ Promotes Director of ‘Zuckerbucks’ Organization That Poured Millions into 2020 Election

Former President Barack Obama’s foundation is set to host a forum in November on dangers to democratic institutions that promotes the executive director of a non-profit that spent millions in “Zuckerbucks” funding election offices in the 2020 election.

Obama on Monday announced the Obama Foundation would host the “Democracy Forum,” an event focused on safeguarding democracy from various challenges set to include “pro-democracy thinkers, leaders, and activists,” in November. The forum, held in partnership with Columbia University and the University of Chicago, names as a “leader” Tiana Epps-Johnson, founder and executive director of the Center for Technology and Civic Life (CTCL), which distributed nearly $350 million in grants to election offices in the 2020 election thanks in large part to donations from an initiative backed by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

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Report: Director Misappropriated More than $1 Million in Public Funds Before Her Death

The former director of a county communications district misappropriated more than $1 million in funds over nearly 10 years according to a new investigative report from the Tennessee Comptroller’s Office.

Kelly Taylor is accused of sending 305 false invoices, forging the signatures of board members, and forging signature endorsements of vendors to cash checks in her role with the Meigs County Communication District. She was 45 when she died Feb. 21, 2021. No criminal charges will be pursued.

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Cato Institute Gives Governor Bill Lee ‘D’ Grade on State Fiscal Policy Report Card

The Cato Institute released its 2022 Fiscal Policy Report Card on America’s Governors on Wednesday, which grades the governors of all 50 U.S. states on their fiscal policies from a limited-government perspective.

According to its website, the Cato Institute is an American libertarian think tank that “promotes an American public policy based on individual liberty, limited government, free markets and peaceful international relations.”

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Ohio Think Tank Wins Lawsuit for D.C. Tavern Against COVID Mandate

A Columbus, Ohio-based think tank this week prevailed in an administrative case on behalf of a Washington, D.C. tavern owner against D.C.’s since-rescinded mandate forcing indoor establishments to require that patrons wear masks and submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination.

The Buckeye Institute handled the matter for Eric Flannery, a Navy veteran and co-proprietor of The Big Board, a bar and grill operating three blocks east of Washington’s Union Station. Despite the city’s mask and vaccine-card rules, Flannery announced that “everyone is welcome” at his restaurant. This winter, the D.C. Department of Health (DOH) officials responded by suspending the tavern’s operating and liquor licenses, ordering the place to temporarily shutter and slapping Flannery with a $2,000 fine. 

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After Chaotic 2020 Process, Pennsylvania Still Won’t Have Midterm Results on Election Day

Pennsylvania during the 2022 midterms will once again fail to produce election results on election day itself, a shortfall the secretary of state’s office is blaming on a recently passed law that fails to permit pre-election counting of mail-in ballots.

Pennsylvania Acting Secretary of State Leigh Chapman said in a briefing on Tuesday that state officials are anticipating “that once again Pennsylvania will not have unofficial results on election night.”

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Good Blasts Riggleman for Endorsing Spanberger

Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) blasted his predecessor Denver Riggleman for endorsing Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07) for reelection.

“This is a marriage made in heaven,” Good said on The John Fredericks Show. “I have not, in two years, talked about my predecessor, but I’ll do that this morning a little bit. Abigail Spanberger has been a fraud from the very beginning. She ran as a moderate, she voted as a leftist.”

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Michigan Governor, Health Department Silent on $50 Million Request, Abortion

A request for $50 million in Michigan taxpayer funding of family planning services is as notable for what it does not say as what it does.

Abortion services were not included by name, and an emailed request for clarification from The Center Square to those making the announcement – Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Director Elizabeth Hertel – was unsuccessful.

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Florida to Continue Flying Noncitizens in U.S. Illegally North

Florida will continue transporting foreign nationals in the U.S. illegally north for at least another eight months, according to a state contract and purchase orders reviewed and first reported by the Sun Sentinel.

They are being transported by Vertol Systems Co., a comprehensive transportation service provider, which was granted a contract by the Florida Department of Transportation. Transportation services are to continue through June 30, 2023, according to the contract.

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Grover Norquist: Katie Hobbs Says She Won’t Raise Taxes But Refuses to Sign Americans for Tax Reform’s No-Taxes Pledge

During a recent Arizona Chamber of Commerce gubernatorial candidate forum, Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, who is running for governor, said she would not raise taxes as governor. When asked by ACC President and CEO Danny Seiden if she would raise taxes, Hobbs responded, “Absolutely not. I am pro-growth.” She pointed out that raising taxes requires a two-thirds vote in the Arizona Legislature, which would make it difficult. 

Instead, Hobbs said in a new ad that she will cut taxes to help Arizonans deal with inflation; cutting income taxes for 800,000 families and exempting diapers, baby formula, and over-the-counter medicine from sales tax. However, in 2015, she voted against HB 2001, which indexed the Arizona income tax for inflation.

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Blake Masters: Arizona Needs a Senator Who Will Fight to Secure Our Water Future

Arizona’s Republican Senate nominee Blake Masters spoke at one of Kari Lake’s “Ask Me Anything” Tour events Tuesday, touching on the state’s looming water crisis and how he believes he can fix it.

“Let’s get a U.S. Senator for Arizona who’s going to fight tooth and nail,” Masters said. “That’s something I want to do. Send someone with sharp elbows who’s going to fight for our water, right? That’s the political fix.”

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Ohio Law Officers Enforce New Law Making Lights Mandatory on Amish Buggies

A new Ohio law HB30 that went into effect at the end of August is requiring Amish buggies and other animal-drawn vehicles to display a new type of high visibility tape and a yellow flashing light when on public streets.

As law enforcement in Northeast Ohio begins to enforce this law they have strived to educate the Amish community about the new requirements.

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Kiggans and Luria Trade Blows on Abortion, Economic Policy

Representative Elaine Luria (D-VA-02) and challenger Virginia Senator Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia Beach) faced off in a Wednesday debate hosted by the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. While many of the debate questions were more business-focused, the two candidates took repeated swings at their opponents’ weak points. Kiggans attacked Luria for aligning with Democrats and cited the economic impacts of their policy, and Luria warned that if elected, Kiggans would take a hard line on abortion and other reproductive issues.

The moderator asked Luria how she felt about the end of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and what the district should expect from Luria on energy. She responded by emphasizing the importance of nuclear power and added, “What they can expect from me: offshore wind development. You know, we’re not going to wake up tomorrow and stop using oil and natural gas. Of course we need adequate transmission of oil and natural gas to support our industry in the area.”

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Kari Lake Calls Out Arizona PBS for Giving Katie Hobbs a Standalone Interview

Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake put local broadcasting company PBS on blast for allowing her Democrat opponent Katie Hobbs to have a solo interview on the station after refusing to debate Lake on stage.

“We just learned hours before airtime of tonight’s Clean Elections Commission [CEC] debate that PBS has unilaterally caved to Katie Hobbs’ demands and bailed her out from the consequences of her cowardly decision to avoid debating me on stage. As the CEC’s broadcast partner, PBS’ actions are a slap in the face to the commissioners of the CEC and a betrayal of their efforts to put on an actual debate,” Lake said in a statement emailed to the Arizona Sun Times.

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Duke Spirits Launches The Masters Music Series

NASHVILLE, Tennessee — Launched on October 7, Duke Spirits teamed with a talented group of artists for its latest project, The Masters Music Series.  Hosted by Runaway June’s Jennifer Wayne, The Masters Music Series is a live performance video series that unites an accomplished group of musicians and writers, showcasing and supporting both emerging and established artists through various programs and initiatives. The series will release two videos each week on Duke Spirits’ YouTube channel.

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Rail Workers Reject New Contracts, Reviving Strike Fears After Biden Took Credit for Ending Dispute

A major rail-worker union having rejected a Biden administration-backed labor contract has reignited concerns about a strike that could worsen the county’s ongoing supply chain issues and fuel inflation that has already reached record highs, in part over a scarcity of goods. 

The Brotherhood of Maintenance of Way Employees Division of the Teamsters on Monday rejected the tentative contract in large part over a lack of paid sick days, union President Tony Cardell said.

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Durham Shows Jurors Emails to Prove Danchencko Concealed, Lied to FBI About Steele Dossier Sources

In the opening of the second day of Special Counsel John Durham’s case against Russia intelligence expert Igor Danchencko, Durham walked jurors through a series of emails to bolster his case that Danchenko lied to the FBI about gathering information in the agency’s 2016 Russia collusion probe.

Danchenko faces five counts for allegedly lying to the FBI about his role in gathering information about then-GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump during his 2016 White House bid, as part of a federal investigation into alleged collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign.

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Biden’s Labor Department Is Planning to Shake Up a Key Rule for Gig Workers

The Department of Labor on Tuesday announced a proposed change to rules governing independent contractors that could re-classify millions of gig workers as full employees, dramatically increasing their chances to obtain certain benefits.

The Labor Department repeatedly characterized the move as a way to reduce “misclassification” of workers who deserved to be counted as employees in a document explaining the rule change. If the new rule is approved, millions of workers that do not currently qualify for minimum wage, overtime, Social Security contributions and other benefits, could see their standing reconsidered, according to The New York Times.

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Key Inflation Metric Doubles Expectations with Core Prices Still High

Wholesale inflation exceeded economists’ expectations year-over-year in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Producer Price Index (PPI), with core prices staying high despite efforts from the Federal Reserve to rein in inflation.

The index increased 0.4% for the month, while the Dow Jones had only estimated a 0.2% gain; prices rose 8.5% year-on-year for final demand goods and services, down from 8.7% in August but higher than expectations of an 8.4% increase, according to the BLS. Final demand prices not including food and energy, or “core” prices, rose 7.2% year-on-year in September.

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