Day: December 28, 2022

TennCare Costs Will Increase as Emergency COVID Waiver Ends

The Center Square

Throughout the federal COVID-19 emergency, Tennessee’s Medicaid service TennCare and programs like it across the country have been barred from removing those who initially qualified for services.

Starting on April 1, however, the emergency will end and so will the federal matching dollars that went into the program. TennCare served 1.4 million residents in early 2020 and, after hitting a projected peak of 1.7 million members this spring, expects TennCare enrollment to go back down to 1.4 million by April 2025.

Read More

Trump Says He Told Ivanka, Jared Kushner, to Not Help with 2024 Campaign

Admin

Former President Donald Trump said he asked his daughter, Ivanka, and her husband, Jared Kushner, to not be involved in his 2024 reelection campaign. 

“Contrary to Fake News reporting, I never asked Jared or Ivanka to be part of the 2024 Campaign for President and, in fact, specifically asked them not to do it – too mean and nasty with the Fake & Corrupt News and having to deal with some absolutely horrendous SleazeBags in the world of politics, and beyond,” Trump wrote Tuesday on Truth Social.

Read More

Text Messages Reveal Lax Security Response to Threat to Crash Plane into Capitol Before January 6 Riot

Just the News

A day before the fateful Jan. 6 riot rocked the U.S. Capitol, security officials in the House and Senate received a warning of a possible aviation terror threat to the seat of Congress but shrugged off the concerns until congressional leadership found out from news media and began pressing for answers.

“Are you making any notification regarding the intel that I’m told is going public?” then-House Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving texted Michael Stenger, his counterpart in the Senate, about the aviation security threat early on the evening of Jan. 5, 2021, according to text messages reviewed by Just the News.

Read More

Asylum Backlog Reaches New Record Under Biden

Admin

There are a record number of asylum cases backlogging U.S. immigration courts under President Joe Biden, according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC).

There are roughly 1.6 million asylum cases, a record number, backlogging the system, according to TRAC, which analyzes and compiles government data. The wait times for court appearances have increased to an average of 4.3 years nationwide, TRAC reported.

Read More

Fraternal Order of Police Reports 323 Officers Shot in the Line of Duty in 2022, Including 12 from Tennessee

Kaitlin Housler

The Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) released a report this week that showed 323 officers were shot in the line of duty, with 60 killed. In Tennessee, 12 officers were shot in the line of duty this year. 

FOP called 2022 “one of the most dangerous years for law enforcement.”

Read More

Judge Denies Motion for Sanctions Against Kari Lake, Will Still Require Awarding of Taxable Costs

Neil Jones

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Peter Thompson has officially ruled against the defendant’s motions for sanctions against Kari Lake in her election challenge, stating that her claims were not made in bad faith.

“Plaintiff failed to meet the burden of clear and convincing evidence required for each clement of AR.S. § 16-672 does not equate 10 a finding that her claims were, or were not, ‘groundless and presented in bad faith,” wrote Thompson.

Read More

Florida COVID-19 Committee Members Emphasize Importance of Restoring Public Trust Related to Vaccine

The Center Square

In response to Gov. Ron DeSantis creating a new Public Health Integrity Committee and filing a petition for a statewide grand jury to investigate potential crimes related to the COVID-19 vaccine, seven doctors on the committee expressed their support for the only governor in America taking such a stand.

The members of the new committee include Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD, Martin Kuldorff, PhD, Tracy Beth Høeg, MD, PhD, Joseph Fraiman, MD, Christine Stabell Benn, MD, PhD, Bret Weinstein, PhD, and Steven Templeton, PhD.

Read More

Connecticut Diverts More Federal Funds for Fuel Assistance

The Center Square

Connecticut is pumping more federal funds into its fuel assistance program to provide the state’s low income energy consumers with more relief this winter.

The Connecticut Energy Assistance Program says it will be increasing fuel assistance payments to qualifying residents by another $430 this season, to help with home heating costs and unpaid utility bills through the state’s Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

Read More

Wisconsin Congressman Tiffany Wants ‘Year-and-a-Day’ Homicide Rule Gone

Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) is spearheading an effort in Congress to end the “year-and-a-day” rule for federal homicide prosecutions.

Tiffany’s “Justice for Murder Victims Act” would allow murder charges to apply if an attacker committed an assault that resulted in the victim’s death more than a year and a day after the incident. Representative Hank Johnson (D-GA-04) is cosponsoring the legislation, while Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Jon Ossoff (D-GA) have introduced a companion bill in their chamber.

Read More

Proposal Would Let Independents Vote in Pennsylvania Primaries

Bradley Vasoli

Pennsylvania state senators are asking other lawmakers to support an upcoming bill to let nonpartisan voters participate in primaries. 

State Senators Daniel LaughlinTwo  (R-Erie) and Lisa Boscola (D-Bethlehem) proposed legislation permitting all state residents whose voter registrations reflect no party affiliation to cast a ballot in either the GOP or Democratic nomination contests. The senators cite 2021 data from the commonwealth indicating that 1,233,748 Pennsylvanians are registered to vote but choose to identify with neither of the two major parties. Since 2017, that number has increased by 51,816. 

Read More

Hamilton County GOP to Fill Vacant Prosecutor Seat

Hannah Poling

Now that Governor Mike DeWine appointed Republican Hamilton County Prosecutor Joe Deters to fill a vacancy on the Ohio Supreme Court (OSC), his former long-time position as prosecutor will become vacant on January 7th, 2023, when he is sworn into the OSC.

Throughout his tenure, Deters has gained a reputation in a crucial office for being a “tough on crime” prosecutor, believing in strict punishments for violent crime, including the death penalty, bail reform boundaries, and policing in general.

Read More

Loudoun County Parents Slam Effort to Ban ‘Hate Speech’ from School Board Meetings

Admin

Loudoun County parents are speaking out against a resident’s petition that calls to ban hate speech from school board meetings following a school board meeting in which parents lambasted school officials over their handling of a sexual assault case.

The petition, signed by several hundred county residents and started by 19-year-old Andrew Pihonak, a Loudoun County resident and member of the LGTBTQ community, calls to “ban hate speech in Loudoun School Board meetings” after a man called homosexuality “immoral” and quoted a violent Bible verse during the public comment period of the Dec. 13 board meeting. Parents present at the meeting and seeking accountability from the school board for a special grand jury report, which found the district failed to alert the community of multiple sexual assaults within the district, told the Daily Caller News Foundation the one comment is not representative of their efforts and that their demands have nothing to do with the LGBTQ community.

Read More

Leader in Whitmer Kidnapping Plot Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison

Admin

Adam Fox was sentenced Tuesday to 16 years in prison for his lead role in a 2020 plot to kidnap Democratic Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, according to NBC News.

A retrial jury found Fox guilty in August of conspiracy to commit kidnapping and possession of a weapon of mass destruction, also convicting Barry Croft Jr. of those charges and possession of an unregistered destructive device. The prosecution had lobbied for Fox to receive a life prison sentence, according to NBC News.

Read More

Commentary: With New Pricing Law, the Feds Can Make Drug Firms Offers They Really Can’t Refuse

RealClearWire

President Biden has promised that the $740 billion Inflation Reduction Act, signed into law this August, will “lower the cost of prescription drugs and health care for families” thanks to provisions that allow the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate the price of some medications directly with pharmaceutical companies. 

Critics are decidedly less enthusiastic. They say the IRA’s new drug price provisions are more akin to government price-fixing than negotiation – an unprecedented power grab in health care. 

Read More

Georgia Regulators Want More Authority over Rooftop Solar Sales People

The Center Square

The chair of Georgia’s Public Service Commission wants state lawmakers to give more authority to the state board that oversees companies that sell rooftop solar panels.

“I do want to take this opportunity on the record to encourage the Georgia General Assembly to look into increasing the capabilities of the electrical licensing board so that we can cut down the number of consumer complaints that we receive from the rooftop solar industry,” PSC Chair Tricia Pridemore said during a hearing last week.

Read More

Residents Seek to Vote on a Waterville Entertainment Venue’s Fate

Hannah Poling

Waterville residents turned in a petition to overturn a city council resolution to construct a large amphitheater and concert venue on the city’s western edge. They plan to put the project on the ballot as a public referendum.

Read More

New Poll Finds Senator Kyrsten Sinema Trailing for Potential 2024 Senate Race

Neil Jones

Following the official party switch from Arizona Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I), a recent Public Policy Polling (PPP) found that she appears to be sinking against other potential candidates for the 2024 senate race.

The poll found that between three hypothetical candidates, Kari Lake for Republicans, Rep. Ruben Gallego for Democrats, and Kyrsten Sinema as an independent, Sinema would find herself last.

“Fresh new Arizona numbers! In a three way race Kyrsten Sinema would get just 13% to 41% for Kari Lake and 40% for Ruben Gallego,” according to PPP.

Read More

Commentary: The ‘Reparations’ Scam

Admin

California is considering paying “reparations” to black Californians who are directly descended from enslaved people, which may surprise most Californians. After all, slavery was never legal in the Golden State. 

Governor Gavin Newsom, heedless of the fiasco he’s inviting, formed a “Reparations Task Force,” no doubt with his future presidential aspirations in mind. The task force issued an interim report in June, detailing California’s “history of slavery and racism and recommending ways the Legislature might begin a process of redress for Black Californians, including proposals to offer housing grants, free tuition, and to raise the minimum wage.”

Read More

Christians Face Genocide amid Rise in Persecution in at Least 18 Countries, Report Warns

Just the News

Christians are facing genocide in several countries as the persecution of followers of the religion has increased in at least 18 nations, according to recent research. 

The Catholic group Aid to the Church In Need released a report earlier this year titled, “Persecuted and Forgotten? A Report On Christians Oppressed For Their Faith 2020-22,” which highlighted “human rights violations” against Christians in 24 countries.

Read More