Tennessee U.S. Representatives Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) and Steve Cohen (D-TN-09) reintroduced a bipartisan bill in the House of Representatives that would require the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) to work to ensure its decision-making process is publicly available.
Read the full storyDay: January 22, 2023
Federal Agencies Withholding Data Behind Pilot Heart Condition Change, COVID Vax Stroke Reversal
Federal agencies are withholding the data behind recent decisions that relate or may relate to COVID-19 vaccines and severe adverse events, fueling speculation that they are putting both vaccinated and unvaccinated lives at risk.
The Federal Aviation Administration told Just the News it widened the acceptable range of heart rhythms for commercial pilots, who were initially subject to industry-wide vaccine mandates, in light of “[n]ew scientific evidence” that it has yet to specify.
Read the full storyMore than 200,000 Migrants Came to U.S. in December amid Mounting Border Crisis: CBP
Authorities encountered 216,162 migrants at the southwest land border in December of last year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
That figures marks an 11 percent increase in unique encounters from November of the same year. The federal agency attributed the surge to influx of Cuban and Nicaraguan individuals fleeing authoritarian regimes in those countries.
Read the full storyGOP Lawmakers Take Aim at College Campuses Distributing Abortion Drugs
Republican lawmakers are introducing pro-life legislation aimed at protecting babies with Down syndrome and stopping college campuses from distributing abortion pills to students.
Introduced by Republican Texas Rep. Chip Roy in the House and Republican Montana Sen. Steve Daines in the Senate, the Protecting Life on College Campus Act of 2023 would prohibit “the award of federal funds to an institution of higher education that hosts or is affiliated with a student-based service site that provides abortion drugs or abortions” to students or university employees.
Read the full storyMichigan Voting Firm Stored Election Data in China, Whistleblower Alleges
A Michigan-based election infrastructure firm stored poll workers’ private data in China, a new whistleblower complaint obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation says, matching earlier allegations against the company and CEO Eugene Yu.
Grant Bradley, a former employee at Konnech, a software firm that provides logistics for poll stations at 32 locations across the U.S., also said that the company’s “developers, designers and coders are all Chinese nationals based out of Wuhan, China,” in the complaint, which was first disclosed by the Federalist on Friday and filed in Michigan court on Dec. 22, shows. Bradley claimed to witness information of poll watchers “being made accessible” to individuals in China but did not comprehend the extent of the data routed through China until True the Vote, an election integrity advocacy organization, lodged allegations in 2021.
Read the full storyTennessee Senate Education Chair Files Bill That Gives Local Districts Flexibility on Class Size
State Senator Jon Lundberg (R-Bristol), who serves as chair of the Senate Education Committee, filed legislation that would lift classroom size limits for k-12 schools.
SB0197, if made law, would repeal the existing maximum class sizes, maximum class size averages, student-teacher ratios, and the prohibition against split-grade classes established by law. It would authorize each local education agency (LEA) and public charter school with authority to establish the maximum class sizes for schools under its control and jurisdiction. Transferring power from the Tennessee Department of Education(TDOE) back to local school boards while still requiring the department to set recommendations.
Read the full storyFlorida Supreme Court Upholds Law Forbidding Local Governments from Over-Restricting Gun, Ammo Sales
The Florida Supreme Court has upheld a law that forbids local governments from restricting sales of guns and ammunition beyond state law.
In a 4-1 ruling, the court said local officials could face stiff penalties if they try to enforce the restrictions that go beyond the Florida law.
Read the full storyOhio Lawmakers Consider Bill to Localize State Agency Licensure Appeals
State lawmakers are considering a bill that would transfer the conflict over state licenses that have been suspended or repealed to local county courts as opposed to the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas.
Senate Bill (SB) 21 sponsored by state Senators Rob McColley (R-Napoleon) and Michele Reynolds (R-Canal Winchester) would provide legal challenges to licenses issued by the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the State Medical Board, the State Chiropractic Board, the Board of Nursing, and the Liquor Control Commission to take place in the county where that person or company is based.
Read the full storyCommentary: The World Economic Forum Is Making the World Safe for Autocracy
Churning out carbon emissions to fly in on their corporate jets to Davos, Switzerland, for their annual fête to make the world safe for autocracy, the World Economic Forum’s hypocrisy is once again patent:
Greenpeace accused attendees of ‘ecological hypocrisy’ before asking just why the WEF claims it is committed to the global goal of keeping warming below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) when the emissions generated from all the private jets flying in and out of airports serving Davos last year were equivalent to those produced by about 350,000 average cars for a week.
Read the full storyBenefactor’s Family Demands Refund After University of Richmond Removes Name from Law School
The University of Richmond recently removed the name of T.C. Williams, an early benefactor, from its law school because of his alleged ownership of slaves in the 19th century.
But his descendants say Williams contributed to the demise of slavery and now argue the university should refund Williams’ previously donated money to the institution.
Read the full storyMinnesota State Agency Wants to Create Database to Track ‘Hateful’ Speech
One Minnesota lawmaker is voicing his concerns about a proposed bill he says would allow the state government to keep track of “bias” incidents and “hate speech” in which no crime may have been committed.
On Tuesday the Minnesota House of Representatives’ Public Safety Finance and Policy Committee held a hearing on HF 181, a bill introduced Jan. 9 that proposes an expansion of reporting “crimes motivated by bias,” an update in peace officer training standards, and the appropriate funding thereto.
Read the full storyDOJ: Atlanta Man Recruited 10 Others for $3 Million Paycheck Protection Program Loan Scheme
Eleven men have been sentenced after a scheme to obtain $3 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans; Atlanta man Rodericque Thompson recruited nine business owners to obtain $300,000 loans with fraudulent applications according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia.
“The CARES Act and the PPP designated funds to aid struggling businesses during a pandemic,” said U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a press release. “American businesses needed these funds to keep their companies and employees afloat during a national emergency and world-wide pandemic. These defendants took advantage of that program to obtain money to which they were not lawfully entitled. We will continue investigating and prosecuting those who attempt to steal these critical funds.”
Read the full storyWisconsin Flat Tax Proposal Overshadows Zero Tax Idea
Tax reform is top of mind for Republicans this legislative session. But while a flat tax measure has taken center stage, another proposal by one legislative leader to eliminate Wisconsin’s personal income tax has seemingly disappeared from the tax cut discourse.
A new State Policy Network (SPN) survey shows a good deal of support for nixing the state income tax.
Read the full story‘Fuel Poverty’ Stresses Pennsylvania’s Hospitals
Pennsylvania’s hospital administrators say rising energy costs driving worldwide “fuel poverty” threaten the stability of the entire U.S. health care system.
“Folks can’t pay to heat their homes,” Chuck DiBello, vice president of facilities and real estate for the Allegheny Health Network, told the Senate Majority Policy Committee. “They get sick and they come to the hospital – sometimes just to get warm.”
Read the full storyConnecticut GOP: State Democrats Have ‘Lost Their Minds’ on Plan to Give Voting Rights to Illegal Immigrants
The Connecticut Republican Party is criticizing the Democrat-led state House for a proposal this legislative session to consider voting rights for illegal immigrants, saying Democrats in the state in considering such as idea have “lost their minds.”
“It’s official. @CTDems have lost their minds,” the Connecticut GOP tweeted Thursday. “Now they are proposing voting rights for ILLEGAL ALIENS. Elections are for U.S. citizens only. We will fight this tooth and nail to preserve the integrity of our democratic system.”
Read the full storyMaricopa County GOP Censures Republican Maricopa County Supervisors, Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer over Election Integrity at Annual Meeting
The Maricopa County Republican Committee voted on January 14 at their annual meeting to censure Maricopa County Stephen Richer and the four Republican members of the Maricopa County Supervisors; Bill Gates, Thomas Galvin, Clint Hickman and Jack Sellers. The vote for the censure resolution was 1,460 for, 138 against, and 36 abstaining.
Maricopa County Member-at-Large Brian Ference told The Arizona Sun Times, “The PCs in Maricopa have spoken, overwhelmingly censuring Richer and the MCBOS, the key line being ‘Ceases immediately any and all recognition and support of the above individuals being censured and encourages all registered Republicans to expel them permanently from office.’”
Read the full storyHobbs, Mayes Temporarily Halt Death Penalty in Arizona
Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order on Friday to review the death penalty process in Arizona, while a stay from Attorney General Kris Mayes halts it for the time.
Hobbs will be selecting an “independent review commissioner” to investigate “all components” of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation, & Reentry’s “execution process for lethal injections and the gas chamber,” the order states.
Read the full storyOhio School Districts Struggle to Rebut Undercover Video of Staffers Saying They Mislead Parents
School districts around Ohio’s capital Columbus are reeling from undercover video of their employees discussing how they mislead parents who oppose critical race theory and related concepts into thinking schools aren’t exposing their children to versions of those concepts.
Accuracy in Media, led by an alum of undercover journalism nonprofit Project Veritas, released its latest sting of school districts Tuesday, following previous investigations of Idaho, Iowa and Tennessee.
Read the full storyThe American Historical Association’s Fight over the Present
The American Historical Association (AHA) is fixated on the present.
At its recent annual meeting in Philadelphia, former AHA President James Sweet referenced his criticism of “presentism,” according to a report in The New York Times. Presentism, Sweet suggested in the August 2022 edition of AHA’s news magazine, leverages history to serve present-day social justice initiatives.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Unbearable Lightness of Pining Backward
DISCLAIMER: Nearly everything I say in this essay I have already said at least once and, in most cases, more than once. At the same time, some points that might have borne repeating—such as why I think theoretical topics like this matter—I intend to skip. They’re all covered in the last one and, anyway, Paul Gottfried, to whom I am mostly responding, didn’t question the relevance of the subject matter. Those of you annoyed by repetition, uninterested in theoretical matters, or who just want MAGA red meat, do all of us a favor and don’t read this.
Read the full storyCommentary: ‘Yellowstone’ as a Commentary on Manliness and Femininity
Recently I offered a defense of the television series “Yellowstone” against the charge that it is just another soapy melodrama about a dysfunctional family, nothing more than an updated version of “Dallas” or “Falcon Crest.” Instead, I suggested a deeper meaning: that it appeals to its audience because it portrays a microcosm of America’s ongoing struggle, the defense of “place” against those who would threaten it. But closely associated with this meaning of the series, I believe there is another source of appeal: its treatment of what Harvey Mansfield calls “manliness.”
Read the full storyTrump Leads DeSantis by 20 Points for GOP Nomination in 2024: Poll
Former President Donald Trump enjoys a commanding 20-point lead over his nearest prospective competitor for the Republican Party primary nomination in 2024.
Trump took 48 percent support among registered voters in the latest Harvard CAPS-Harris Poll survey, which was released exclusively to The Hill. That metric puts him clearly ahead of his nearest would-be rival, Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis, who commanded 28 percent support.
Read the full storyDOJ Finds Six More Classified Memos in Search of Biden Home
The Justice Department found six new classified documents inside President Joe Biden’s Delaware home during a search by government lawyers, the president’s attorney announced Saturday night. The discovery during a day-long search Friday marked the fifth time since November that classified materials have been found in an office or home of the 46th president.
Read the full storyBlue State Sued for Allegedly Keeping Kids Locked Up for Months After They Were Supposed to Be Released
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) was sued Thursday for allegedly incarcerating large numbers of children in its guardianship despite court orders to release them, a problem dating back decades.
Children as young as 11 were all placed in juvenile jails after coming into contact with the juvenile justice system but ultimately received court orders necessitating their release, according to the lawsuit filed by Cook County, Illinois Public Guardian Charles Golbert. The DCFS allegedly nevertheless kept the children incarcerated following the court orders, some for months afterward.
Read the full story