Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed chairman of the Tea Party Patriots Action, Jenny Beth Martin to the newsmaker line to discuss today’s SCOTUS hearing which will address the power of the executive branch in regards to Biden’s student loan forgiveness program.
Read the full storyMonth: February 2023
Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition’s Director Gulbransen Describes Group’s 2023 Agenda
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed Director of Tennessee’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, Aaron Gulbransen in studio to talk about the group’s 2023 agenda.
Read the full storyAaron Gulbransen Expects Bill to Reduce Size of Metro Nashville Council Will Pass in Tennessee General Assembly
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Aaron Gulbransen in studio to discuss House Majority Leader William Lambert’s HB 48 which is on the docket for the Finance Ways and Means Committee today limiting metropolitan and municipal government members.
Read the full storyGOP Congressman Scott DesJarlais (TN-4) Announces He Will Run for Re-Election in 2024
Tuesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed (R-TN-04) Representative Scott DesJarlais to the newsmaker line to announce his 2024 bid for re-election and his proposed legislation which would require for the moment, presidential candidates to take a mental competency test.
Read the full storyTennessee Senators Blackburn and Hagerty Sponsor Bill that Would Establish More Oversight, Transparency for the World Health Organization
Tennessee Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) and Bill Hagerty (R-TN) have introduced a bill in the U.S. Senate that would establish more oversight and increased transparency from the work of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read the full storyCommentary: Draft Treaty with WHO Puts U.S. Sovereignty to Manage Public Health Crises in Question
A draft World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement, released on February 1, would make U.S. sovereignty to make its own decisions about public health and pandemic management provisional, “provided that” the U.S. response and activities “do not cause damage to their peoples and other countries.”
Read the full storyOklahoma Set to Debut a First-of-It’s-Kind School Choice Program
by Reagan Reese While conventional school choice programs typically involve vouchers administered by the state, Oklahoma is set to create a tax credit-based initiative to fund education outside the public school system. The state’s school choice program, which would create a refundable tax credit program for all families that can be used on homeschooling and private education expenses, is tied to legislation that would increase funding for public schools and give teachers a pay raise and create a refundable tax credit, Oklahoma officials told the DCNF. The bills passed the Oklahoma House of Representatives on Wednesday in 75 to 25 and 78 to 23 votes, sending the legislation to the state Senate where it is expected to pass. “What we did was we give a $5,000 tax credit, but it’s refundable,” Oklahoma Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “In other words, you can get $5,000 to move and go to a school of your choice. That’s the great thing about it is now we’re funding students, not necessarily the system or the zip code where you happen to live. It’s gonna allow you to be more flexible with where the kids go and have the dollars follow the…
Read the full storyDoctors Condemn Radical Woke Medical School Ideology: ‘Sacrifices the Needs of Patients, Even Their Lives’
More doctors are publicly condemning the Marxist racial and gender ideological agenda into which medical school students are being trained, asserting patents’ health, and even their lives, are being sacrificed for a totalitarian political worldview.
A report published last week, for example, by Do No Harm, an organization of physicians, healthcare professionals, medical students, patients, and policymakers, revealed the pervasive infiltration of woke diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) ideologies in Tennessee medical school curricula and programs.
Read the full storySource: Forestry Workers Find Animals Dying at Alarming Rates in Ohio Parks Following East Palestine Train Derailment
Although Ohio Governor Mike DeWine, the Environmental Protection Agency, and local officials continue to assure Ohioans that recent air monitoring and water sample tests have shown no concerns with air quality or water quality in East Palestine’s municipal water supply, following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd, forestry workers have found that animals are dying at alarming rates.
A source told The Ohio Star that her husband, a wildlife biologist and consultant for the federal forestry, received hundreds of calls on both Sunday and Monday from colleagues who say forestry workers have found hundreds of dead animals in Ohio’s parks.
Read the full storyTennessee Right to Life Urges Lawmakers to Vote Against Bills Introducing ‘Exceptions’ to Human Life Protection Act
Tennessee Right to Life is calling upon state lawmakers to vote against legislation that would rewrite the Human Life Protection Act by introducing “exceptions” which, the group says, would make the law “unenforceable.”
Senate Bill 745/House Bill 883 is slated to be heard in the state Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday, February 28. Its companion bill in the state House will be heard in that chamber’s Health Committee Wednesday, March 1.
Read the full storyGallagher Calls on Biden Administration to Declassify Intelligence on Origins of COVID-19
It’s time to open up the classified pandemic files, says U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08), a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
With revelations the U.S. Department of Energy now believes a lab leak was the likely cause of the COVID-19 outbreak, Gallagher is calling on the Biden administration to declassify the intelligence surrounding the origins of the deadly coronavirus.
Read the full storyFountain Hills Council Prevents ‘Green New Deal’ Style Environmental Plan from Adoption
Fountains Hills Town Councilman Allen Skillicorn announced Monday that conservative members of the Town Council prevented implementing a “Green New Deal” style environmental plan.
“Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) must have turned green with envy when Fountain Hills tried to pass an Environmental Plan Tuesday February 21. All based on an 11-page utopian manifesto,” Skillicorn said in a statement emailed to reporters. “Luckily the conservative majority on the Fountain Hills town council stopped this expansion of the Green New Deal.”
Read the full storyEconomists: Railroad Derailments Highlight Necessity of Line 5
As two train derailments – one in Ohio and one in Michigan – remain national news, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General Dana Nessel continue their crusade to shut down the Line 5 pipeline.
If successful in their efforts, moving the petroleum products would transition from pipelines to tanker truck and rail transportation, according to experts interviewed by The Center Square. This transition would likely drive up prices for consumers, increase carbon emissions, and prove less safe, they say.
Read the full storyGeorgia Election Chief Blasts County for Taking $2M in Zuckerbucks, Suggests Legislative Remedy
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) slammed DeKalb County for accepting $2 million in private money for election administration — or “Zuckerbucks” — in “violation” of state law while suggesting a legislative remedy to prevent counties from directly receiving such funds.
Read the full storyCommentary: Americans Should Read the Fine Print on Biden’s Newest Border Enforcement Policy
If you believe the reporting of the legacy media, the Biden administration’s newly proposed 153-page asylum rule is a resurgence of the Trump administration policies they loathed.
The Washington Post describes the new rule as the administration’s “most restrictive border control measures to date,” and The New York Times claims the new policy “could disqualify most migrants from being able to seek asylum at the southern U.S. border.”
Read the full storyDeSantis Signs Bill Ending Disney’s Special Self-Governing Status
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Monday signed a bill ending the Walt Disney Company’s special self-governing status.
“Allowing a corporation to control its own government is bad policy, especially when the corporation makes decisions that impact an entire region,” DeSantis said in an announcement about the new law, which came largely in response to Disney’s advocacy against Florida’s Parental Rights in Education bill, called the “Don’t say gay bill” by critics.
Read the full storyOhio Senate to Hold Hearing on East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment
According to Senate President Matt Huffman (R-Lima), the Senate’s Special Committee on Rail Safety will have its initial hearing to examine the Norfolk Southern derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The committee will convene in the Senate Finance Hearing Room on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. If the Senate’s voting session runs past that time, the committee will convene immediately after the chamber adjourns.
Read the full storyPresidential Candidate Vivek Ramaswamy: Farmers’ interests Have Been Forgotten
Entrepreneur and Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy says the interests of the American farmer have been forgotten. The latest trade numbers might just make that case.
The 37-year-old Ramaswamy, who launched his campaign last week, joined The Iowa Star Managing Editor M.D. Kittle Monday on NewsTalk 1040 WHO.
Read the full storyRamsey County Sheriff Slams Commissioners for ‘Utterly Ignoring Crime’
A war of words between the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners and Sheriff Bob Fletcher boiled over Friday as the board accused the sheriff of an “act of racism.”
The dispute began Tuesday when the board voted to increase oversight of Fletcher’s spending, which the sheriff welcomed.
Read the full storyVirginia Military Institute Alumni Work to Disrupt Donations to Force School to End DEI Programs
The Virginia Military Institute continues to face intense pushback from an alumni group that opposes the military school’s ongoing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
The activists in recent months upped their efforts by seeking to redirect the institute’s alumni fundraising in an effort to persuade campus leaders to pull back on critical race theory policies and programs.
Read the full storyPennsylvania Republican House Leaders Discuss Speaker’s Stalling Reconvening of Session, Failure to Investigate Harassment
Pennsylvania state House Republicans on Monday excoriated their Democratic counterparts for failing to reconvene and failing to start investigating sexual-harassment allegations against a Democratic House member.
Republicans have blasted Speaker Mark Rozzi (D-Temple) for dragging out the process of finalizing operating rules and bringing the House of Representatives back into session. The speaker, whose party holds a majority of seats, initially said he would only agree to allow legislation to be considered once the House voted on a measure allowing adults victims of sexual abuse to sue their alleged predators despite the statute of limitations. The House passed such legislation last week.
Read the full storyChandler City Councilman Mark Stewart Pushes for Suspension of Food Tax in City
Chandler City Councilman Mark Stewart held a conversation during the Thursday City Council Meeting regarding the elimination of the city’s grocery tax to provide inflation-relief aid.
“We have an opportunity to help people in their homes, especially the working poor and those folks that don’t qualify for government assistance, or those that don’t want to take government assistance,” Stewart said. “So, mom shouldn’t decide on whether or not to pay for groceries or school clothes because eggs are seven dollars. If there’s a little we can do better, I’d like to consider that.”
Read the full storyOhio House Representatives Want to be Consulted by Federal and State Authorities on Issues Regarding East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment
In the wake of a railroad catastrophe that has continued to worry residents in East Palestine, Ohio, a group of Ohio House members want federal and state authorities to consult with them.
A bipartisan group of 26 state Representatives have sent a letter to the Ohio and United States Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) on February 22nd requesting that the two organizations “consult and advise” them on any additional potentially needed resources.
Read the full storyMichigan Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin Announces 2024 Bid for Senate Seat of Retiring Stabenow
Michigan Democrat Rep. Elissa Slotkin on Monday announced her 2024 Senate for the seat of retiring fellow Democrat Sen. Debbie Stabenow.
The race for the open seat will likely intensify Michigan’s status as a battleground state, with Democrat Joe Biden having won it in 2020 and Republican Donald Trump having won it 2016.
Read the full storyCommentary: Corporations Embracing ESG Must Lose Their Legal Protection
ESG, an acronym for Environmental, Social, and Governance, is everywhere. If you work for, advise, invest in, regulate, study, or otherwise care about one or more corporations, you’ve likely encountered the term. Consultancies, banks, investment funds, managers, governments, and international organizations trip over themselves touting their ESG scores and credentials.
Read the full storyOhio U.S. Senator JD Vance Pushes PPP-Style Relief for East Palestine Businesses Following Train Derailment
Ohio Senator JD Vance (R-OH) published an opinion piece in The Washington Post this week detailing the extent of support and investment needed for the Ohio town of East Palestine to rebuild following the February 3rd derailment of a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic chemicals.
Read the full storyNonprofit Law Firm Files Lawsuit Against EPA and Local Authorities, for Improper Handling of East Palestine, Ohio Train Disaster
A nonprofit public interest law firm called We The Patriots USA (WTP USA) held a press conference Monday, in Akron to discuss newly filed litigation against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and local authorities over how they handled the East Palestine railway incident.
WTP USA filled a federal civil rights law suit on Monday at the John F. Seiberling Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse in Akron, on behalf of Courtney Miller against the United States, the EPA, EPA Administrator Michael Regan, Governor Mike DeWine and Ohio EPA Director Anne Vogel.
Read the full storyCommentary: The History of Jim Crow Laws Shows Modern Comparisons Are Just Cheap Political Demagoguery
What are “Jim Crow” laws? President Biden apparently thinks they are synonymous with election integrity. In fact, when Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill in 2021 requiring voter ID and strengthening rules against bribery and electioneering at the polls, the President condemned the law as “Jim Crow on steroids.”
Read the full storyWall Street Investors Are Snatching Up Single-Family Homes and Taking Over the Rental Market
An ongoing shortage of housing will make it easier for banks and other Wall Street investors to take control of the market for single-family rental homes, National Association of Realtors Chief Economist Lawrence Yun told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Institutional investors, such as banks and other large investors, are on track to own 40 percent of single-family rentals in the U.S. by 2030, MetLife Investment Management predicted, according to CNBC. An ongoing shortage of single-family homes in the U.S. would normally limit growth potential for Wall Street firms looking to buy single-family rentals, but it is also making it easier for them to tighten their grip on the market, Yun told the DCNF.
Read the full storyGOP Presidential Candidate Calls on Trump, Haley to Sign ‘Anti-Woke’ Pledge
Vivek Ramaswamy, the latest 2024 GOP presidential candidate, called on former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to support the eventual Republican nominee and sign onto an “Anti-Woke Policy Pledge” in a Monday press release.
Read the full storyTexas Sheriff: We’re Experiencing ‘Silent Invasion’ of Military Age Men
What’s happening at the southern U.S. border with Mexico is in fact an invasion, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe says.
“We’re experiencing a silent invasion of military age men,” Coe told The Center Square when describing what his deputies have been increasingly facing over the past two years.
Read the full storyCrom’s Crommentary: The Future of AI ‘Should Be of Enormous Concern Because, If You Start with A False Premise, The Likelihood of Coming to a Good Conclusion Is Almost Nil’
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 storyTennessee Star Education Reporter T.C. Weber Provides the Inside Scoop on the Third Grade Retention Bill
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed education reporter TC Weber in studio to discuss problems with TCAP testing and gauging the academic proficiency of students.
Read the full storyADN America’s Gelet Fragela: Hispanics Are Not a Monolithic Group
Monday morning on The Tennessee Star Report, host Leahy welcomed founder and editor of ADN America, Gelet Fragela to the newsmaker line to talk about the different cultures of Latino communities and America’s top five dirtiest cities run by Democrat mayors.
Read the full storyAll 95 Tennessee Counties Receive First Direct Payments from Opioid Lawsuit Settlements
More than $31.4 million in lawsuit settlement funds have been dispersed to all of Tennessee’s 95 counties by the state’s Opioid Abatement Council, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services announced in a recent press release.
Read the full storyTennessee Bill Would Move Foreclosure Notices from Newspapers to State Website
A bill that would move foreclosure notices from newspapers to a Tennessee Secretary of State website was pushed back two weeks in the Senate State and Local Government Committee.
Currently, homes in foreclosure in Tennessee are required to be advertised in a local newspaper. Those notices also appear on the statewide tnpublicnotice.com website.
Read the full storyRecent IRS Controversies Raise Doubts About Auditing Army’s Potential Bias
President Joe Biden’s call for funding for 87,000 IRS agents to audit Americans has raised questions about whether the new rash of auditing will target poorer Americans or be politically motivated.
The Inflation Reduction Act included $80 billion to beef up IRS efforts, which Biden says will more than pay for itself in new audits.
Read the full storyTennessee’s Skrmetti Among 33 Attorneys General Urging Supreme Court to Uphold Whistleblower Law
Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is leading 33 states attorneys general in urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn a pair of lower court rulings that could have broad implications for whistleblowers, and the government’s ability to go after public fraud.
In a 15-page legal brief, Tong and the other AGs are calling on justices to uphold a pair of federal whistleblower lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of over billing government health insurance programs for prescription drugs.
Read the full storyGroup Names Chicago, New Orleans as U.S. Murder Capitals
Chicago recorded 697 total homicides in 2022, far more than any other city in the United States, but New Orleans had the highest murder rate per capita, according to a new report from a nonprofit research group.
Chicago had more total homicides in 2022 than Philadelphia (516), New York City (438), Houston (435) and Los Angeles (382), which rounded out the top five, according to a report from Wirepoints, an Illinois-based research and news organization that surveyed 2022 crime data from 75 of the largest U.S. cities.
Read the full storySocial Media Mogul Zuckerberg Funds Recruitment of Progressives to Administer Elections
The injection of private money into public election administration — or “Zuckerbucks” — is continuing in a new form, as left-leaning candidates are being recruited to run for local elections offices by an organization that receives funds from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
Read the full storyEast Palestine, Ohio Residents Urged to Document Health Concerns by Environmental Activist Erin Brockovich
There are growing reports of health concerns from residents following the chemical explosion and toxic train derailment that upended the community of East Palestine, Ohio over three weeks ago.
Some residents this month say they have been diagnosed with bronchitis, lung issues, and rashes that doctors and nurses suspect are linked to the chemical exposure.
Read the full story‘2023 Property Taxpayer Protection Act’ to be Taken up by General Assembly this Week
A bill that would protect property taxpayers from bearing the brunt of new residential development across the state is set to be taken up in the General Assembly this week.
The “2023 Property Taxpayer Protection Act” will remedy a disparity between the ways in which cities and counties are able to fund the expansion of services brought on by the accelerated growth Tennessee is experiencing which was created by the 2006 County Powers Relief Act.
Read the full storyDEA Arizona Announces Massive Narcotics Seizure after Cartel Targeting Operation
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of Arizona announced Thursday a massive amount of seized narcotics and incarcerations following a three-year-long targeted investigation of the Sinaloa Drug Cartel (SDC).
“DEA Arizona is laser focused on the Sinaloa Drug Cartel. We will not stop,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Cheri Oz. “This investigation is a testament to our strong partnerships which enable us to gain the necessary advantage over these evil criminal networks.”
Read the full storyOnline Posting of Pennsylvania Legislators’ Expenses Proposed
Pennsylvania Senator Lindsey Wiliams (D-Pittsburgh) is preparing to reintroduce a bill to instruct the state’s chief legislative clerks to post all lawmakers’ taxpayer-funded expenses online.
In a memorandum asking fellow senators to cosponsor her measure, Williams mentioned that she and some other legislators provide online access to may of their public expenditures. Her own website contains a page linking to monthly expense reports. Spending listed includes such items as lodging and office event expenses.
Read the full storyWisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul Won’t Divulge His COVID Vaccine Status After Forcing His Employees To Disclose Theirs
Wisconsin Department of Justice field trainer Jerry Mullen wants Attorney General Josh Kaul to play by the same rules DOJ employees have been forced to follow when it comes to COVID testing and vaccination status.
It appears Mullen is asking for too much.
Read the full storyCity in Minnesota’s Police Staffing Levels ‘Dangerously Low,’ Union Leader Says
The Golden Valley Police Department is experiencing “unprecedented and dangerously low staffing levels,” according to a union leader, who said the city is down 61% from its budgeted force.
“The radical agenda of Golden Valley’s city leaders and their lack of support to the staff within the police department is having an effect on its residents and visitors to the community. It has caused unprecedented and dangerously low staffing levels as well as morale issues, as police officers are leaving in droves for employment with surrounding agencies,” said Jim Mortenson, executive director of Law Enforcement Labor Services.
Read the full storyEPA to Resume Hazardous Waste Cleanup at East Palestine Train Derailment Site Following Brief Pause
The EPA has announced that cleanup and removal of hazardous waste from the East Palestine, Ohio site where a Norfolk Southern train carrying toxic materials derailed on February 3rd will resume on Monday following a brief pause.
Read the full storyFlorida County GOP Passes Resolution to ‘Ban the Jab’ and Confiscate the Doses
The Lee County Republican Party Executive Committee passed a resolution Tuesday night, asking the Florida Legislature to outlaw the COVID injections and the Attorney General’s Office to confiscate all doses within the state.
The “Ban the Jab” resolution, which passed with the required two-thirds majority, will now head to Governor Ron DeSantis’ desk (where he can ignore it) and to the State Legislature.
Read the full storyDeroy Murdock Commentary: A Snapshot of Insanity, Courtesy of the Democrats
Led by Quadrillion-Dollar Man Joe Biden — about whom more later — today’s Democrat Party has decayed into a collection of psychoses fortified by police power, perpetual-motion monetary printing presses and easy access to atomic weapons. What could go wrong? Damn near everything.
Democrats spent much of the last generation attempting to heal the Southern blacks whom they brutalized through Jim Crow segregation. They promoted legal equality for women, aimed to enrich the poor and eradicated tear-inducing air and blazing rivers.
Read the full storyVirginia General Assembly Adjourns after Passing ‘Stopgap’ Budget, No Final Deal
The politically-divided Virginia General Assembly agreed on a “stopgap” budget bill before lawmakers adjourned the legislative session Saturday, with lawmakers indicating work remains to reach a final deal on amendments to the state’s two-year state spending plan.
Without an agreement reached on key aspects of proposed amendments to the state’s budget – including $1 billion in tax cuts proposed by Gov. Glenn Youngkin – the legislature agreed to pass what House Appropriations Committee Chair Del. Barry Knight described as a “stopgap” budget with just a few items.
Read the full story