Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the president of the Tennessee Home Education Association, Claiborne Thornton in studio to talk about his background and why he chose to homeschool his own children in 1981.
Read the full storyMonth: October 2022
Champion of Home Schooling Outlines the Characteristics of an Educated Citizenry
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the president of the Tennessee Home Education Association, Claiborne Thornton in studio to explain the components that make up an educated citizenry.
Read the full storyGlockStore to Host Upcoming Davidson County Republican Party ‘Shooting Stars’ Fundraiser on Saturday
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed GlockStore owner Lenny Magill in studio to describe the Davidson County Republican Party Shooting Stars Fundraiser at the GlockStore this Saturday at 6:30 p.m.
Read the full storyFar-Left Congresswomen Rally Behind Tennessee Congressional Candidate Odessa Kelly
Odessa Kelly, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-7) for reelection, is touting the backing of three of Congress’s most left-wing members.
Representatives Ilhan Omar (D-MN-5), Ayanna Pressley (D-MA-7) and Cori Bush (D-MO-1) issued the endorsements on Monday. The congresswomen are members of what many observers call “The Squad,” a six-member coalition of far-left U.S. House members who advocate for such causes as police defunding, Medicare for All and the Green New Deal.
Read the full storyGov. Lee Touts Violent Crime Intervention Fund on Fox News
As part of a wave of new crime prevention and response strategies in Tennessee, Gov. Bill Lee (R) joined Fox News to tout his new Violent Crime Intervention Fund.
“We have a crime problem in this country, there’s no doubt about it, and Tennessee hasn’t escaped that problem,” Lee told former host and former U.S. Congressman Trey Gowdy on the channel’s “Sunday Night in America.”
Read the full storySen. Ted Cruz, Radio Host Clay Travis to Stump for Andy Ogles in Franklin as Part of PAC Bus Tour
As Election Day nears, a Political Action Committee (PAC) is hosting a bus tour that will stop in Franklin, Tennessee, to rally for former Maury County mayor and U.S. congressional candidate Andy Ogles, bringing with it some notable names in the world of politics.
“Truth and Courage PAC #TakeBackAmericaBusTour is hitting the road to educate and equip conservatives all across the country,” according to a media advisory from that group. “Join us to hear directly from national and local leaders who are taking the charge to save our great nation. Midterm elections are around the corner and so is the TAKE BACK AMERICA Bus Tour, bringing the red wave to you! The opportunity to win back America is now.”
Read the full storyTEMA Director Elected to Lead National Emergency Management Association
The head of Tennessee’s Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) has been tapped to lead the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), according to the Tennessee Department of Military, TEMA’s parent agency.
“Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA) Director Patrick Sheehan was named president of the National Emergency Management Association (NEMA), for a one-year term leading the professional organization of emergency managers,” according to a press release.
Read the full storyParent Leaders Rebuke ‘Teachers’ Unions’ and ‘Fear Mongering Influencers’ for National Assessment Results Exposing Unprecedented Losses During Pandemic
The director of outreach for Parents Defending Education says results published Monday from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) that revealed significant declines in math and reading scores nationwide were “predictable because people in positions of power allowed teachers unions and other fear mongering influencers to put children last.”
“We knew prolonged school closures and masking would have catastrophic effects on children,” Erika Sanzi said. “And now we have more evidence that they did.”
Read the full storyTennessee Public Libraries Receive Thousands in Technology Grants
The La Vergne Public Library in Murfreesboro and E.G. Fisher Public Library in Athens both recently received grants administered by the Tennessee State Library & Archives. The Tennessee State Library & Archives is a division of the Department of State.
Read the full storyTennessee Joins Other States in Significant Declines in Math and Reading Tied to Pandemic School Closures
Results of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), also known as the Nation’s Report Card, show Tennessee’s scores reflected the unprecedented national declines in student achievement tied to the extended school closures demanded by teachers’ unions and their allies in government.
Read the full storyMandatory Dyslexia Screenings to Begin in Ohio Schools
Starting with the 2023-2024 school year, Ohio students in kindergarten must participate in annual dyslexia screenings aimed at identifying student learning disabilities at an early age.
House Bill (HB) 583, sponsored by State Representatives Adam Bird (R-New Richmond) and Don Jones (R-Freeport), became law on September 23, making changes to the prior dyslexia support law, HB 436.
Read the full storyConnecticut GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Bob Stefanowski Vows to Reject COVID Shot Mandate for School Children
Connecticut GOP gubernatorial candidate Bob Stefanowski said Thursday in a press statement that if he is elected Connecticut governor that the state would never mandate the COVID vaccine for “schoolchildren, public or private employees, or anyone else.”
“It’s time that we start allowing actual science — not political science — to inform how we approach public health decisions,” Stefanowski added. “I challenge Governor Lamont to make this same pledge to the people of our state.”
Read the full storyMichigan’s Democratic Governor Is Rapidly Losing Ground to Her GOP Opponent: Poll
Republican candidate Tudor Dixon is now polling within one percentage point of Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in the state’s gubernatorial race, per a new poll.
Dixon received 47.9% support while Whitmer received 48.4%, a difference of 0.5%, according to a poll from The Trafalgar Group. The small margin between them is a marked difference from earlier in the year when, in August, Whitmer was ahead by up to 15%, according to RealClearPolitics.
Read the full storyJudge Won’t Stop Milwaukee’s Get-Out-the-Vote Effort
Milwaukee’s get-out-the-vote partnership with a liberal/progressive firm is not technically against the law, so a judge is not going to stop it.
Milwaukee County Judge Gwendolyn Connolly on Friday refused to grant the Republican Party of Wisconsin a temporary restraining order against Milwaukee Votes 2022, the city-backed privately funded get-out-the-vote effort with GPS Impact.
Read the full storyCommentary: Tennessee’s National Assessment of Educational Progress Results Don’t Tell the Whole Story
Like any other test, I am careful about reading too much into the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results. With NAEP, representative samples of students rather than the entire national, state, or district populations take the test every two years and only in 4, 8, and 12th grades.
National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Peggy Carr said “specific pandemic-era local decisions, like how long to keep a school or district shuttered, aren’t solely the cause of these results. Exploring that deserves more research.” My response: “Why?”
Read the full storyAbrams’ Voting Rights Group Paid Millions in Legal Fees to Campaign’s Chair: Report
The voting rights group founded by Georgia Senate nominee Stacey Abrams reportedly spent over $25 million in legal fees over two years, with most of the money going to one case and the largest amount toward the law firm of Abrams’ close friend and chairwoman of her campaign, raising questions about such a large sum and possible conflicts of interest.
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ friend who chaired the Georgia Democrat gubernatorial nominee’s 2018 campaign and her current bid, is partner in the law firm Lawrence & Bundy, Politico reported Monday.
Read the full storyKari Lake Participates in Clean Elections Commission’s Gubernatorial Debate; Katie Hobbs Dodged
Following controversy caused by Arizona PBS, the Arizona Clean Elections Commission (CEC) held its 2022 gubernatorial debate on Sunday. However, the only nominee in attendance was Republican Kari Lake as her Democrat opponent, Katie Hobbs, declined to attend.
“Thank you to the clean elections folks. I know they had to kind of move things around as we tried to make a debate happen with myself and my opponent, but unfortunately, she was not courageous enough to show up for the debate,” Lake said to start the evening.
Read the full storyArizona School Gets Rid of Homecoming Tradition; Concerned Parents Want It Back
A group of Arizona parents called Concerned Viking Families (CVF) told The Arizona Sun Times that the homecoming king and queen were stripped away from the Sunnyslope High School (SHS) of the Glendale Union High School District (GUHSD). Leah Clark, a teacher at SHS, allegedly made the student council she oversees vote to remove the longstanding tradition to avoid hurting feelings.
“The student council teachers/advisors at Sunnyslope High School (part of Glendale Unified) took it upon herself to demand that her student council class vote on terminating the long standing tradition of Homecoming King/Queen court because it’s not diverse or inclusive and hurts students feelings. And also because it’s hard to have to tell people they’ve lost,” said leaders of the CVF to the Sun Times.
Read the full storyGov. Glenn Youngkin and U.S Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona Disagree on Reason for Low Student Test Scores
RICHMOND, Virginia — Virginia’s scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are “catastrophic,” Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a press conference Monday morning, hours after the NAEP scores were released. Nationally, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release the scores are “appalling.” Virginia’s Republican education administration blamed the Commonwealth’s scores on Democratic policy under previous administrations predating COVID-19, while Cardona said the national results are “a reminder of the impact that this pandemic has had on our learners.”
“Today’s data release is a clear and heart-wrenching statement that Virginia is failing her students,” Virginia Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera said at the conference, and said the results are not a surprise. “Recent date from the ACT, SOLs [Standards of Learning], from the PALS data, and today’s catastrophic decline in Virginia’s NAEP scores are a predictable outcome of the decade-long systemic dismantling of a foundational commitment to excellence in education.”
Read the full storyReport: Georgia Has One of the Nation’s Best Improvements in Its Unemployment Rate
Georgia reported one of the best changes in its unemployment rate of any state in the union, a new analysis found.
According to the report from WalletHub, Georgia has the 15th best change in unemployment. That trailed neighboring Florida (No. 6) and Alabama (12) but was better than South Carolina (28), Tennessee (32) and North Carolina (35).
Read the full storyDeSantis Suspends Deadlines for Property Tax Payments
Gov. Ron DeSantis is taking several actions to help Floridians impacted by Hurricane Ian, including planning on calling a special session in December to address property taxes and property insurance reform.
He first issued an executive order to suspend property tax deadlines for residents in 26 counties impacted by Hurricane Ian. The order covers personal homes and commercial property that were either destroyed or rendered uninhabitable.
Read the full storyVP Kamala Harris Falsely Calls Her Support of Minnesota Freedom Fund ‘Misinformation’
Vice President Kamala Harris falsely described her support of the Minnesota Freedom Fund as “misinformation” in an interview Friday.
The vice president was in town for a pro-abortion event with Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan and a fundraiser for Gov. Tim Walz. She also appeared in a video with Attorney General Keith Ellison and endorsed his reelection bid.
Read the full storyMusic Spotlight: Colony House
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – When I got the press release that a Nashville-based rock band, Colony House, was releasing their fourth studio album on February 3, 2022, I was intrigued, because in this town we don’t have a lot of modern rock bands. All four band members are from Tennessee, with two being from Franklin.
Read the full storyDoctor Who Gave Fetterman a Clean Bill of Health Is Campaign Donor, Democrat Funder
A doctor who issued a clean bill-of-health letter for John Fetterman is a donor to the Pennsylvania Democrat Senate nominee’s campaign and a frequent giver to other Democratic politicians, federal records show.
Speculations have swirled around Fetterman’s health after he experienced a stroke in May. At times he has struggled with speech and has also needed technological assistance during media interviews, such as closed captioning to ensure he comprehends questions to him. Auditory processing issues are common symptoms of strokes.
Read the full storyArizona Sues Biden over Border Wall Standoff
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is taking President Joe Biden to court over their spat about securing the nation’s southern border.
The Biden administration ordered Arizona to remove its temporary border barrier made out of shipping containers, but Arizona refused. Instead, it filed a lawsuit on Friday, hoping the state would defend its right to defend itself.
“Our border communities are over
Read the full storyOhio Religious Schools, Nonprofits to Share $6 Million for Security
Safety and security at religious institutions, chartered nonpublic schools, licensed preschools and nonprofit organizations throughout Ohio will share $6 million in grant funding, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine announced.
The money, included in the state’s operating budget signed into law in July and administered by the Ohio Safety and Security Grant Program, is part of more than $12 million given to state schools and institutions since 2019 to help with safety and security.
Read the full storyStudy Shows Marijuana Use Reaching Record Levels Among Young Adults
According to a new study, use of the drug marijuana has reached record highs for young adults in the United States, to the point that it may become a common practice for a majority of this demographic.
Breitbart reports that the study, conducted by scientists at the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research, on behalf of the organization Monitoring the Future, shows a significant increase in the use of marijuana and other hallucinogens among adults between the ages of 19 and 30, compared to the same rates just 10 years earlier.
Read the full storyInvestors Show Concern over Defaulting Mortgages as Possible Recession Looms
Investors are reportedly concerned about mortgage defaults and are unloading Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities, amid record-high interest rates and a rapidly cooling housing market.
Mortgage rates last week hit a two-decade high of 6.92%, a trend that has slowed the booming, often over-priced real estate market during the height of the pandemic.
Read the full storyHome Sales Plummet in Ominous Sign for Economy
Sales of existing homes fell in September for the eighth month in a row, as historically high mortgage rates pummel demand for homes, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) announced Thursday.
The 1.5% decline from August contributed to a 23.8% slide compared to September 2021, as the median existing-home sales price rose 8.4% from last September, from $355,100 to $384,800, the NAR reported. NAR Chief Economist Lawrence Yun said that high mortgage rates were contributing to reduced demand, particularly in “expensive regions of the country.”
Read the full storyJudge Rules in Favor of California Baker Who Refused to Bake Same-Sex Wedding Cake
In California, a judge ruled in favor of a baker who was sued by the state for refusing to bake a cake for a lesbian couple’s wedding.
The New York Post reports that Cathy Miller, the owner of Tastries Bakery in Bakersfield, was sued by the state’s Department of Fair Housing and Employment after she refused to bake a cake for Eileen and Mireya Rodridguez-Del Rio. The state accused Miller of violating the Unruh Civil Rights Act, a state anti-discrimination law.
Read the full storyCommentary: CDC’s Child Vaccine Move Puts Democratic Candidates on the Hot Seat
The CDC just made the closing weeks of 2022 campaigns a lot more volatile for some shaky Democrat candidates, especially for incumbent, pro-mandate Democrat governors like JB Pritzker, Kathy Hochul, and Gretchen Whitmer.
Read the full storyRNC Launches 73 Election Integrity Lawsuits Across 20 States
In the year 2022 alone, the Republican National Committee (RNC) has filed 73 different lawsuits in 20 different states, alleging various violations of election procedure and resulting in several key victories, with two weeks to go before the midterms.
As reported by Fox News, the lawsuits focus on such matters as the counting of ballots that are either undated or mismarked, as well as the rights of poll watchers to directly observe the counting of ballots. The large-scale legal action by the RNC comes after widespread accusations of voter fraud in the 2020 election cycle, which many believe was enough to swing the results away from President Donald J. Trump and in favor of Democrat Joe Biden.
Read the full storyVictor Davis Hanson Commentary: The Progressive Left Have Doomed the Democrats
The Republicans were always going to win big in November, regardless of what biased pundits professed.
There was likely never a sudden “blue resurgence” or “red collapse” of late summer.
Read the full storyEngland Moves to Restrict Transgender Procedures for Kids as Biden Doubles Down
England’s National Health Service (NHS) banned puberty blockers for minors outside strict clinical trials and advised against social transitions for kids, arguing that most children who think they’re transgender are going through a phase they will outgrow, according to The Telegraph.
The NHS is developing plans to restrict cross-sex medical treatments for children due to “scarce and inconclusive evidence to support clinical decision-making,” according to The Telegraph. As England moves to limit transgender medical interventions for children, the Biden administration has been championing child sex changes and publicly criticizing state level efforts to restrict those procedures as harmful to transgender people.
Read the full storyYour Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast with Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren for Monday Night and Tuesday
Star News Network Chief Meteorologist Daphne DeLoren shares her Middle Tennessee Fresh Forecast for Monday night and Tuesday.
Catch Daphne’s Fresh Forecast weekdays at 5pm and on demand.
Read the full storySkyhorse Publishing President Tony Lyons Reveals Extent of Big Tech’s Censorship of ‘The Real Anthony Fauci’ Book
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Skyhorse Publishing President, Tony Lyons to the newsmaker line to discuss Big Tech censorship of the book by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. entitled The Real Anthony Fauci, now a movie.
Read the full storyNational Assessment of Educational Progress Scores Reveal K-12 Public School Crisis
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in studio to discuss the National Assessment of Educational Progress scores revealing education crisis for K-12 public schools.
Read the full storyCrom’s Crommentary: Headlines Cite GOP Wins in Election Integrity Battle
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed the original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael to the studio for another edition of Crom’s Crommentary.
Read the full storyFormer College Dean Elizabeth Fitch Offers Solution to Administrative Bloat in Higher Learning
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Associate Professor Elizabeth Fitch of Motlow State to the newsmaker line to discuss her findings of administrative bloat in higher learning institutions in Tennessee and around the country and what to do about it.
Read the full storyTennessee Man Sentenced to 4 Years in Prison for Spending 22 Minutes in Capitol on January 6
A Tennessee man was sentenced to four years in prison after he entered the U.S. Capitol through a fire door on Jan. 6, 2021, and spent 22 minutes in the building during the riot.
Matthew Bledsoe, 38, was found guilty in July on a felony obstruction charge and four misdemeanor counts. He “scaled a wall … and entered through a fire door at the Senate Wing,” the Justice Department stated Friday.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Pays $2.8 Billion to Battery Makers That Pledge Commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
The Biden administration announced a $2.8 billion investment in U.S.-based battery manufacturing Wednesday that contributed to the administration’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives.
The administration selected 20 companies to receive awards from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, signed into law in November 2021, with projects evaluated by their ability to “contribute meaningfully” to the administration’s Justice40 initiative, which sets a target of 40% of all federal clean energy investments benefitting “disadvantaged and underrepresented communities,” the Department of Energy (DOE) announced Wednesday.
Read the full story‘Can’t Be Bought, Bribed or Coerced’: Kari Lake Explains Why Liberals ‘Are Afraid’ of Her
Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake of Arizona claimed liberals fear her because she “can’t be bought, bribed or coerced” during a Saturday night Fox News appearance.
“I never wanted to get into politics. I left my career and walked away from my paycheck because I was disgusted with where journalism was going, the propaganda. The people of Arizona recruited me, they asked me to run. I’m a citizen politician,” Lake told host Dan Bongino. “I’m not in this because I want to climb the rungs of the political ladder into a different position.”
Read the full storyNew Poll: Oz Leads Fetterman in Pennsylvania Senate Race
For the first time in the 2022 race for U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania, a poll shows Republican Mehmet Oz leading Democratic Lieutenant Governor John Fetterman.
The poll from Wick Insights indicates the celebrity surgeon has the support of 49.1 percent of likely voters while Fetterman garners the backing of 44.6 percent.
Read the full storyTwo More Indicted in Yuma Ballot-Harvesting Scheme
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced this week that two more defendants, both from San Luis, have been indicted with felonies for conspiracy and ballot abuse over illegally collecting ballots.
The indictments allege that Gloria Lopez Torres, a San Luis council member and Gadsden Elementary School District Board (GESD) member, collected seven ballots from Nadia Guadalupe Lizarraga-Mayorquin. The latter collected at least one ballot from a third party. The women put the ballots in ballot drop boxes on August 4, 2020, for the city’s municipal election.
Read the full storyNew Balance Announces New Distribution Center Coming to Lebanon
New Balance Athletics and the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development announced on Tuesday that it will be investing $68.5 million to establish a new distribution center in Lebanon.
New Balance Chief Operating Officer Dave Wheeler said, “We are excited to open our new distribution center in Lebanon, Tennessee, that will drive increased agility, capacity, and collaboration across our North American distribution network. This new state-of-the-art facility will ensure we can continue to provide world-class customer service and achieve our strategic growth goals. We greatly appreciate the tremendous support we’ve received at the local and state level and look forward to joining the Wilson County business community.”
Read the full storyTwo New Polls Widen Vance’s Lead in Ohio Senate Race
Data from two new surveys have contributed to a slightly widening lead for Republican J.D. Vance in his Ohio Senate campaign against U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH-13).
One of the polls comes from the Democrat-aligned group Data for Progress, which finds that Vance has garnered 49 percent of the 1,016 likely voters with whom the organization spoke.
Read the full storyHardcoat Technologies LLC Announces $6.6 Million Expansion in Knox County
On Friday, Hardcoat Technologies LLC officials announced that the company will invest $6.6 million to expand manufacturing operations at its Papermill Drive location in Knoxville.
Read the full storyParents, School Board Member Ask Courts to Review Decisions Around Hiring of Spotsylvania Superintendent
Two legal efforts are challenging the Spotsylvania School Board’s decision to hire former Greene County Administrator Mark Taylor as superintendent. Two district parents are asking the Spotsylvania Circuit Court to review that decision, seeking an injunction block Taylor’s appointment, and school board member Nicole Cole is appealing the Virginia Board of Education’s (VBOE) decision to license Taylor as a superintendent, according to WJLA.
“We intend to show under that code that the actions of the Spotsylvania County School Board were both capricious and an abuse of discretion in direct violation of Va. Code Section 22.1-87,” plaintiffs Jeffrey Glazer and Christina Ramos said in their petition against the school board.
Read the full storyMemphis-Shelby County School Official Under Investigation
According to recent reports, the Memphis-Shelby County Schools (MSCS)’ Chief of Human Resources is investigation by the school district, though the school district has not released an official reason for that investigation.
Dr. Yolanda Martin is the subject of the current scrutiny.
Read the full storyFederal Deficit Tops $1.4 Trillion in Fiscal Year 2022, Nearly 50 Percent Above Pre-COVID Level
The Biden administration on Friday released its budgetary data for the last month of fiscal year 2022 which showed the U.S. government ran up a roughly $1.4 trillion deficit. That is an average of nearly $120 billion in added debt every month.
Federal debt surpassed $31 trillion earlier this month. The federal debt topped $30 trillion, its own milestone, in January of this year.
Read the full story