Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake on Friday announced that she had filed an election challenge, alleging that the total number of illegal votes was greater than her opponent’s margin of victory.
Democratic Secretary of State Katie Hobbs was certified as the winner of the state’s gubernatorial contest earlier this month. State law requires that election results be first certified before a candidate may file a challenge.
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The third release of internal Twitter documents on Friday evening detailed the momentous decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the platform after the Jan. 6 riot, making clear that executives understood it was an unprecedented moment in the history of speech.
Alternative journalist Matt Taibbi on Friday released the third set of internal documents as part of an Elon Musk-sanctioned effort to expose the platform’s prior censorship practices.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-14) State Representative Jason Zachary to the newsmaker line to discuss the ACLU’s lawsuit threat to Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare’s failure to maintain a schedule gender reassignment surgery and his legislature to maintain such surgeries halt in the state of Tennessee.
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Friday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-02) Congressman Tim Burchett to the newsmaker line to weigh in on the trade of American NBA player Brittney Griner for the Merchant of Death Russian arms trader and the pork-filled National Defense Authorization Act.
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Friday 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.
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Doctors and scientists who participated in Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson’s (R) COVID-19 roundtable Wednesday shared their personal experiences of the federal government’s alleged corruption and mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic that they say have likely caused many more examples of serious vaccine injury for which Americans have no recourse.
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Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema has announced that she will leave the Democratic Party and officially register as an independent and in an Op-Ed in the Arizona Republic.
“I’ve registered as an Arizona independent. I know some people might be a little bit surprised by this, but actually, I think it makes a lot of sense,” Sinema told CNN’s Jake Tapper during an interview Thursday with in her Senate office.
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A school voucher pilot program that began this school year in Davidson and Shelby counties could be expanded if new proposed legislation becomes law.
Sen. Todd Gardenhire, R-Chattanooga, has proposed Senate Bill 12 to expand the program to any school district, called a Local Education Agency, with more than five schools that was identified as being in the bottom 10% of schools in performance in 2017 and then was also identified as a priority school in the 2015, 2018 and 2021 cycles.
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Lawmakers and parents are increasingly questioning Tennessee’s third-grade retention law. While Tennessee has long had legislation in place allowing districts the ability to retain third-grade students who did not score “proficient” on TCAP, the previous law left the decision up to local districts. Legislation passed during 2021’s Special Session took that decision out of local districts’ hands and made it state-mandated. A move that state lawmakers are now openly questioning.
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A Wyoming library board has cut its ties with the American Library Association (ALA) and its state affiliate over support of sexually explicit books in the children’s sections of local libraries that include indoctrination in gender ideology and other aspects of radical LGBTQ activism.
The Campbell County Library Board in Gillette, Wyoming, voted 4-1 to break ties with the ALA after months of parental outcry about the books, promoted by the national organization, that have been viewed as pornographic and an attempt to normalize a transgender lifestyle, The Epoch Times reported last week.
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Tennessee Congressman John Rose (R-TN-06) released a statement Thursday following the passage of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2023, the primary authorization for funding the U.S. Armed Forces and Department of Defense (DoD), in the House of Representatives.
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The Ohio State Senate passed a 2,144-page Republican-backed bill to “restructure” the Ohio Department of Education on Wednesday.
Senate Bill (SB) 178 sponsored by State Senator Bill Reineke (R-Tiffin) told the Primary and Secondary Education Committee that the bill seeks to “improve the academic achievement and workforce skills of our students, to drive better outcomes in their education, and to prepare for more effective career readiness.”
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Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (R) shared in a statement Thursday how her office has made significant divestments from investment company BlackRock following concerns that CEO Larry Fink was using the company to spread his political beliefs.
“The Arizona Treasury has received many questions, comments and concerns in the past few months regarding BlackRock, as several states have recently announced they are no longer investing with BlackRock,” said Yee. “We will continue to fight back against the dangerous path of companies pushing their social issues and wokeism inside of the investment space and return to traditional money management that puts the people first.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee – Most speakers at the East Bank Stadium Committee public comment meeting held at the Bellevue Regional Community Center Wednesday evening expressed their opposition to the proposed deal for a new Tennessee Titans stadium.
The public comment meeting in Bellevue was the fourth in a series of five scheduled across the county by the East Bank Stadium Committee (EBSC) to hear feedback and comments directly from the community about the proposed $2.1 billion stadium.
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Florida U.S. Sen. Rick Scott is giving kudos to new Twitter CEO Elon Musk after Musk and journalist Matt Taibbi released a flurry of “Twitter files” from the company’s archives.
The files documented a pattern of how the social media giant increasingly suppressed free speech over the past few years. This includes nixing the New York Post’s story in October 2020 that exposed Hunter Biden’s business dealings, along with compromising photographs of President Joe Biden’s son.
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In Philadelphia, one gas station owner has taken matters into his own hands when it comes to addressing the city’s rising crime wave.
The New York Post reports that Neil Patel, owner of a Karco gas station, has hired armed security guards brandishing AR-15s and shotguns, and wearing bulletproof Kevlar vests. Patel told local news outlet Fox 29 that he hired the guards from the private security firm SITE in response to the worst crime wave he has seen in his 20 years in the city. Patel said that he recently witnessed a gang completely ripping out and making off with his store’s ATM machine.
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Five men facing terrorism charges for their alleged role in a plot to kidnap Gov. Gretchen Whitmer will face trial.
Judge Michael Stepka of the 86th District Court in Traverse City bound over the men.
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Within 24 hours of presenting the idea, Ohio Senate Republicans passed legislation on Wednesday that aims to expand the ability to drill for oil and gas on state-owned lands.
A 2011 state law gave state agencies the power, if they choose, to lease out state lands for oil and gas exploration and production. However, the Oil and Gas Land Management Commission has been slow to approve any projects. Former Governor John Kasich signed that bill into law but didn’t appoint anyone to the commission for years. Under Governor Mike DeWine, the commission has met more often but has not approved leases.
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Georgians cast 3.5 million ballots in the Senate runoff, including 1.9 million early and absentee ballots and 1.6 million votes on Election Day. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said more election day votes were cast in the runoff than on election day in the general election.
That should have equaled a win for Herschel Walker, according to Republican estimates on Monday that suggested turnout of just one million election day votes would be enough for him to cancel Senator Raphael Warnock’s (D-GA) early vote lead. Instead, Warnock won 1.8 million total votes and Walker 1.7 million — 51.37 percent to 48.63 percent, according to unofficial results.
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The number of families dealing with homelessness in Hennepin County has more than tripled in just one year.
Hennepin County recently released a report showing that 217 families were sleeping in shelters last month — a whopping 268% increase from mid-November 2021, KSTP reported.
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Illustrating that they won’t take their own side in a dispute, Republicans typically choose as their party chieftains hacks who betray little evidence of having read the GOP platform and even less evidence of supporting it. Current Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel falls into that category. She appears as conversant with the party platform as the late Bob Dole, who famously said that he never bothered to read it.
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To the outside world, our industrial model public education system has changed very little in the last fifty years. However, those who have worked within the system would challenge that view. Everyone can agree we must have an education system that serves all students, preserves democratic ideals and civic participation, and allows students to succeed in the future economy.
Educators have constantly battled against the false premises that our public schools are failing, that educators are the problem, and that outsiders (usually non-educators) should take control of running our schools. Too many policymakers, including state leaders, have simply bought into the jargon fostered by disruptive education that pushes that agenda. The 113th Tennessee General Assembly has work to do this legislative session.
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The Loudoun County School Board voted unanimously to fire Superintendent Scott Ziegler without cause after a grand jury report blamed Ziegler and his administration for much of the district’s mishandling of two 2021 sexual assaults.
The board spent much of the Tuesday evening meeting in closed session and didn’t publicly discuss Ziegler’s termination; there is an emergency meeting schedule for Thursday to appoint Chief of Staff Daniel Smith to be interim superintendent.
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Former Pickens County School Superintendent Carlton Wilson and his wife pleaded guilty to racketeering and theft charges; Carlton Wilson also plead guilty to six additional theft charges, according to Attorney General Chris Carr, whose office prosecuted the case.
“Carlton and Cindy Wilson stole thousands of dollars from hardworking Georgians, and now they are facing the consequences of their illegal actions,” Carr said in a press release. “This is a complex case that spans several years and involves multiple acts of theft, including the unlawful collection of taxpayer funds. This conviction is a major victory for all those who fell victim to the couple’s fraudulent and deceptive tactics, and we are proud to have worked with our local partners to put a stop to their criminal schemes.”
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The Ohio State Senate this week passed a bill deeming natural gas a form of “green energy” and eased the leasing of state lands by fossil-fuel companies.
Sponsored by state Representative J. Kyle Koehler (R-Springfield), the measure’s main feature is an unrelated agricultural policy reducing the minimum number of poultry chicks that can be sold or transferred in Ohio from six to three. Lawmakers embraced that change based on the advice of the poultry industry and that of adults supervising children in 4-H agriculture programs who want to make smaller purchases for their farm projects.
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Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson wrote jointly with several colleagues to President Joe Biden this week urging him to reverse major elements of his anti-fossil-fuel agenda.
The letter from the senators takes issue with several actions the White House has taken to hinder investment in and use of oil, natural gas and coal in an effort the administration insists is important to lessening global warming.
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Governor Glenn Youngkin announced an “end of COVID-19 related fines and penalties” Tuesday while issuing an executive order to require agencies to report fines, fees, and suspensions related to the shutdowns. In an accompanying press release, he said his upcoming budget proposal would include language ordering agencies to halt further enforcement actions and direct Secretary of Finance Stephen Cummings to develop a reimbursement process.
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Arizona Governor Doug Ducey (R) announced Thursday that he is launching a statewide campaign to raise awareness about human trafficking.
“It can’t be overstated—human trafficking is real, it is pervasive and it’s an issue Arizona takes seriously,” said Ducey. “Thanks to the collaborative efforts of the [Arizona Human Trafficking] Council and state agencies, Arizona’s youth, our tribal nations, and our entire state are able to join the fight in combating this horrific issue. Anyone can be a victim, but together we can ensure we are doing all we can to protect victims and stop human trafficking throughout our state.”
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NASHVILLE, Tennessee-Miss Tennessee 2022 is Lauren Dickson. The Parsons native and Miss Lexington 2021 was selected from a class of 36 candidates to become Miss Tennessee on June 25. Dickson is the 69th Miss Tennessee.
This year, Lauren Dickson represented Lexington, Tennessee (population 7915), right next to her hometown of Parsons, Tennessee (population 2,082). They are located midway between Nashville and Memphis, right off I-40.
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With Georgia’s U.S. Senate runoff in the books and lawmakers gearing up for the next legislative session, the state’s voting law is expected to be among the hot-button issues lawmakers address.
On Wednesday, the day after U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-Georgia, defeated Republican challenger Herschel Walker, a Democratic state lawmaker said she plans to file legislation to modify the timeline for voting during runoff elections.
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Media outlets, intellectuals, and even academics talk about the Jones Act as an antiquated piece of legislation that prevents the U.S. from mysteriously entering an economic golden age. Yes, it’s a hundred years old, but don’t let its age mislead you. Today, it is much more important to America and Virginia than its critics admit.
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Florida Democratic Rep.-elect Maxwell Alejandro Frost says he was denied a lease on a Washington, D.C., apartment after the landlord initially told him that his bad credit wouldn’t matter.
Frost is slated to become the first Gen-Z lawmaker in Washington when the next Congress is sworn in in January. He was previously a community organizer and will take over the seat of Democratic Rep. Val Demings, who unsuccessfully challenged Florida GOP Sen. Marco Rubio for his seat in the upper chamber in November.
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As a die-hard Titans fan, I have one thing to say: I love this team.
Not because we are overly talented or particularly fun to watch–we are neither. When we win, it’s some downright ugly football that usually includes seven 60-yard punts by our new phenom punter, at least one missed FG by fat Randy and a botched fourth and one on a dropped handoff off a silly trick play with Derrick Henry standing around in the backfield.
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Preliminary U.S. Customs and Border Protection data obtained by The Center Square from a border agent shows record numbers of apprehensions and gotaways at the southern border in November.
Agents apprehended 212,608 illegal foreign nationals and recorded at least 93,461 who evaded law enforcement and are now living illegally somewhere in the U.S. Combined, they total at least 306,069.
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Throughout much of the 20th century, America’s status as an economic superpower and the world’s standard-bearer for freedom and opportunity was due in no small measure to the successes of New York and California. Today, those states have become symbols of America’s decline, as the consequences of their incompetent, partisan leadership are now undeniable. Nowhere is this clearer than how these two formerly great states have addressed immigration.
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The U.S. House voted Thursday to pass a bill codifying protections for same-sex marriages.
The vote was 258-169 as nearly 40 Republicans sided with the bill, which has already passed the Senate and will soon head to the desk of President Joe Biden, who is expected to sign the legislation into law.
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An FBI agent’s testimony in a freedom of speech case confirms that the bureau ran an operation during the 2020 election that requested social media companies remove content as disinformation, suggesting the government’s requests succeeded about half of the time and were conducted with a “headquarter stamp of approval.”
Elvis Chan, the FBI assistant special agent in charge of the Cyber Branch in San Francisco, told lawyers for the Missouri and Louisiana attorneys general in a lawsuit over social media censorship that he supervised a “command post” in his home city that helped the nationwide disinformation censorship operation function in fall 2020.
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Former New York Times editor Bari Weiss on Thursday released internal documents on Twitter’s censorship efforts and detailed the creation of blacklists and use of shadow ban technique to throttle “disfavored” tweets.
Last week, Musk released information on the company’s censoring of the Hunter Biden laptop story via alternative journalist Matt Taibbi. Thursday’s dump came through a team of reporters Weiss led and to whom Musk granted broad access to the company’s files to investigate on condition they first publish their findings on Twitter.
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A recently passed Oregon gun law will not take effect Thursday, following a high court ruling by Oregon Supreme Court Chief Justice Martha Walters, who denied Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum’s request to remove a hold on the law, according to The Associated Press.
The law, Ballot Measure 114, was subject to multiple lawsuits following its passing in November, and Rosenblum’s request sought to overturn a lower court’s ruling by Harney County Judge Robert Raschio, which placed a hold on the law’s implementation Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The ballot measure is considered one of the strictest gun regulations in the country, and if implemented, will require background checks, firearm training, fingerprint collection and a permit to purchase any firearm.
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