Day: February 1, 2023

Human Rights Group Warns FBI: Cuban Regime Members Are Masquerading as Asylum Seekers

Admin

A project from the Florida-based Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba that works with activists and victims of political persecution in Cuba recently reported the presence of an alleged repressor of the Cuban communist regime in the United States. Cuban Repressors, a program of the Foundation for Human Rights in Cuba (FDHC), filed a formal complaint with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) on Jan. 4, against 55-year old Cuban citizen Iran Septiem Suarez, accusing him of “advising and participating in the repressive political persecution of Cuban activists on the island,” according to former political prisoner and Florida Cuban Repressors Director Rolando Cartaya told ADN Cuba.

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TennCare to Spend $500M Because of Enrollment from COVID-19 Pandemic

The Center Square

TennCare currently has $1.1 billion in its reserves and expects it to cost $500 million of those reserves over the next year as it redetermines Medicaid eligibility for those additional 500,000 members who joined the plan over the past three years.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, states were not allowed to remove those who are no longer eligible for the program as previous. Starting on April 1, states must start that redetermination process and will have a year to complete it.

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Carol Swain Says DEI Push for Police Departments Are ‘Not Making the Streets Safer for Anyone’

Julie Carr

Live from Music Row, Wednesday morning on The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy – broadcast on Nashville’s Talk Radio 98.3 and 1510 WLAC weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. – host Leahy welcomed all-star panelist Carol Swain in studio to talk about the state of police departments and comment upon the Memphis Police Department’s response to questions about officers personal relations to Tyre Nichols. Leahy: In studio, our very good friend for many years, all-star panelist Carol Swain on the phone right now is Eric, a former police officer here in Nashville who has a question for Carol. Eric, good morning. Caller Eric: Hey. Good morning! Miss Carol, I’m so thankful for you. I just wanted to tell you, I think you do need to be in politics, but you answer your own call. I could go on for hours about the police department. There are many good men and women in that department, but the problem is they’re not allowing the good ones to be in leadership. Let me give you a prime example. When they had the riots and different disturbances all over, and the people were laying in the street, well, I looked at a friend of…

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Fed Hike Rates .025 Percent as Inflation Fears Loom

Just the News

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates by 25 basis points, issuing an 0.25 percent hike in line with earlier expectations in a move that signals a rate slowdown in the Fed’s fight against inflation. The Fed said in a statement that its Federal Open Market Committee “anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range” will still be necessary “in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2 percent over time,” a sign that the central bank will be looking to more rate hikes in the near future.

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City of Memphis Says It Will Release All Recordings from Tyre Nichols Traffic Stop

M.D. Kittle

Facing allegations of a cover-up, the city of Memphis says it will release all audio and video recordings in the deadly Tyre Nichols traffic stop. 

“The City is preparing to release these recordings publicly upon completion of the administrative investigation, which is expected to occur in the next few weeks,” Jennifer Sink, Chief Legal Officer for the city of Memphis, said in a statement. “

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Biden’s Second Home in Delaware Searched by FBI for Classified Documents

The Center Square

President Joe Biden’s personal residence in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, was searched by the U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday as part of an ongoing probe into classified documents, according to a statement released by Biden’s personal attorney. “Today, with the President’s full support and cooperation, the DOJ is conducting a planned search of his home in Rehoboth, Delaware,” attorney Bob Bauer said in a statement. “Under DOJ’s standard procedures, in the interests of operational security and integrity, it sought to do this work without advance public notice, and we agreed to cooperate.”

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Transparency Troubles Dog Memphis Police Department Again in Tyre Nichols Case

M.D. Kittle

On January 15, the Memphis Police Department issued a statement on its “internal investigation” into the death of Tyre Nichols — five days after the 29-year-old black man died. MPD said it “was important to take swift and deliberate action to maintain transparency, accountability, public trust, and legitimacy amongst our community.” 

But the troubled police department has had a host of transparency troubles surrounding the brutal beating of Nichols at the hands of five black police officers  – and a history of closed government offenses. 

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Overregulation Can Limit Reach, Effectiveness of U.S. Charities

The Center Square

Overregulation of charitable organizations can make it more difficult to get care to residents where they need it most, according to a new study from Philanthropy Roundtable, a Washington D.C.-based organization dedicated to protecting philanthropic freedom. 

The group’s analysis classified state regulations of charities into five categories: start-up regulations, annual reporting requirements, rules for paid solicitors, audit mandates and oversight regulations. Pacific Research Institute economist Wayne Winegarden wrote the report, The 50 State Index of Charity Regulations, for Philanthropy Roundtable.

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Wyoming Bill Would Allocate Resources to Fund Border Wall

The Center Square

Republican lawmakers in Wyoming are advancing legislation that would appropriate more than $5 million toward border security efforts in Texas, Arizona and Florida.

SF0166, “Border wall and sanctuary city transport,” was filed by Republican state Sen. Larry Hicks, with Sens. Dave Kinskey, John Kolb and Cheri Steinmetz cosponsoring. Republican state Reps. John Bear, Donald Burkhart, Mark Jennings, and Ember Oakley filed the House companion bill.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Announces $3 Billion in Fourth-Quarter Revenue as Investigation into Blackouts Continues

The Center Square

The Tennessee Valley Authority announced Tuesday it made $3 billion in operating revenue in the final three months of 2022.

The revenue came as TVA faced what it called the first temporary blackouts in the energy company’s 90-year history in late December, something the company apologized for and has vowed that it is fully investigating.

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Milwaukee-Based Free-Market Think Tank Expands with New Madison Office

Bradley Vasoli

The Badger Institute, a free-market think tank that has operated in Milwaukee for since 1987, is expanding with a new office near the state Capitol. 

While the policy-research center, known in its early days as the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, will keep its principal headquarters in Cream City, its educational consultant Jim Bender and communications vice president Michael Jahr will staff the new Madison office. Badger leadership expect the new capital-city presence to bolster the think tank’s government-relations efforts. 

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Georgia Lawmakers to Focus on Gun Control

The Center Square

Coinciding with an uptick in gang violence in the state and mass shootings nationwide, state lawmakers are likely to consider gun legislation during this year’s General Assembly session.

Last year, Kemp signed Senate Bill 319, a “constitutional carry” measure allowing Georgians to carry guns without needing a state-issued license. State Democrats derided the move, saying it would lead to more shootings in the state.

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Commentary: Big Philanthropy Advances as a Big Player in the Private Funding of Public Elections

RealClearWire

Echoing the private financing of public elections that critics saw as heavily favoring Democrats in 2020, some of America’s richest foundations are pouring money into a similar effort again, in the face of more organized conservative resistance.  

A nonprofit group called the Audacious Project, whose supporters include the Gates and MacArthur foundations and the Bridgespan Group, a consultant whose clients include Planned Parenthood, has committed $80 million to a progressive organization, the Center for Tech and Civic Life, to provide grant funding to run local elections.   

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DeSantis Pledges to Defund Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at Florida Public Universities

Admin

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis pledged to defund all diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs at public universities during a Tuesday press conference in Bradenton, Florida.

DeSantis outlined several higher education reforms for state public universities including defunding DEI programs, which he referred to as “ideological” and “political filters,” readdressing required courses to teach western civilization and restructure tenure review. Tuesday’s announcement expanded on the administration’s recent work to prevent taxpayer dollars from funding so-called woke initiatives on college campuses. 

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Policy Hearings Fill Pennsylvania’s Legislative Void

The Center Square

The gaping hole in the General Assembly’s session calendar notwithstanding, lawmakers continue delving into policy meetings this week as an outlet for their restlessness.

After a House Republican Policy Committee’s hearing on Monday about school funding concerns, lawmakers invoked their frustration with stalled legislative action and their colleagues across the aisle.

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Panel of Virginia Lawmakers Advance Stillborn Tax Credit Proposal

The Center Square

Virginia could move to create a tax credit for the loss of a stillborn child under a measure advanced by lawmakers in a House of Delegates committee Monday. 

House Bill 1915 by Del. Angelia Williams Graves, D-Norfolk, would establish a refundable income tax credit for individual filers or married couples filing jointly of $2,000 for the loss of a stillborn child. The tax credit would be available from 2023 to 2027, and the bill specifies the credit could only be claimed in the taxable year in which the stillbirth occurred. 

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Michigan Man Convicted of Joining ISIS, Training in Terrorist Tactics

Admin

A federal court convicted a Dearborn, Michigan, man of joining the Islamic State (ISIS) and training in terrorist tactics from 2015 to 2018, the Department of Justice said in a press release.

Ibraheem Musaibli traveled to Syria in 2015 and enrolled in an “ISIS-run religious training camp” before moving on to a military training facility, where he learned how to operate a machine gun, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said in a statement. He then swore allegiance to ISIS and served as a member of the terrorist organization for the next two and a half years, a rare instance of a U.S.-born individual leaving America to support the notorious terrorist organization, according to The Detroit News.

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State Democrats Consider Repealing More of Minnesota’s Abortion Restrictions

Admin

Democrats just passed the Protect Reproductive Options Act, which critics are calling the most radical abortion law in the nation, if not the world. But they’re not done yet.

Next on the Minnesota DFL’s agenda is HF 91/SF70, which would essentially repeal what remains of Minnesota’s regulations on the abortion industry, including medical protections for infants who survive abortions and a ban on using public funds for the procedure under MinnesotaCare.

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Ohio City’s Sanctuary City for the Unborn Goes into Effect After Abortion Activists Drop Lawsuit

Hannah Poling

After pro-abortion groups decided to abandon their lawsuit, the city of Lebanon, Ohio may start implementing its Sanctuary City for the Unborn ordinance once more.

In May of 2021, Lebanon, Ohio became the first in the state to enact a measure outlawing abortion and declaring itself “a sanctuary city for the unborn.” According to the Sanctuary City for the Unborn website, more than 60 other cities across the U.S. have passed similar ordinances.

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Republican Think Tank Leader Matt Mayer Announces Exploratory Campaign for Ohio Governor in 2026

Hannah Poling

Republicans swept the statewide positions, beginning with the governor, in the November general election. However, a probable Republican candidate for the upcoming 2026 election for governor has already been identified.

Former president of the conservative policy organization Buckeye Institute, Matt Mayer now serves as president of Opportunity Ohio. Due to the time and resources required to create that campaign, he has decided to launch an exploratory campaign for the Republican nomination for governor in 2026.

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Ohio Senate Bill Allows Drivers with Marijuana in Their System to Prove They’re Not Impaired

Hannah Poling

A bill filed by Republicans in the state Senate would allow Ohioans stopped by law enforcement for driving with marijuana in their system to attempt to demonstrate that marijuana usage did not impair their driving.

Senate Bill (SB) 26 sponsored by state Senator Nathan Manning (R-North Ridgeville) would allow people the possibility to avoid an OVI even if they tested positive for marijuana by claiming they were sober. Manning told The Star that the legislation looks to address the challenging science of marijuana use and how long it lingers in the body after any benefits have worn off.

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Kari Lake Attorney Tim LaSota on Adrian Fontes’s Investigation Request: ‘Another Attempt to Weaponize the Justice System’

Neil Jones

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D) sent a letter to Attorney General Kris Mayes (D) Monday, requesting she investigates Republican Kari Lake for allegedly violating state law by sharing images of voter signatures on social media. Tim LaSota, one of Lake’s attorneys, accused Fontes of selectively quoting the law to defame Lake.

“This is becoming all too common in politics – another attempt to weaponize the justice system with a phony allegation against a Republican. Adrian Fontes selectively quotes the statute in an attempt to distort the law and smear Kari Lake in the process. Kris Mayes should immediately say that she will have no part in this shameful, disgusting effort,” LaSota said in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times.

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New Bill from Senate President Warren Petersen Aims to Increase Housing Supply in Arizona

Neil Jones

Arizona State Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) aims to shorten the administrative approval process, which may speed up the rate of home building in the state.

“20 years ago, the homebuilding process from start to finish would take approximately six months. Today, that process can take up to four years,” said Petersen. “I believe this action will soon provide relief for our citizens that are hurting from sky high housing prices by quickly increasing supply. I’m thankful for the collaboration on this bill from the League of Arizona Cities and Towns to help ensure our communities will have the tools they need to increase the number of homes being built so that our hardworking citizens are able to secure affordable housing in a timely matter, while also protecting our groundwater.”

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Ohio Governor DeWine Asks for Family and Education Policy Changes in State of the State Address

Bradley Vasoli

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine proposed major expansions of various social programs in his 2023 State of the State address to legislators in Columbus on Tuesday.

The Republican governor called on lawmakers to enact a variety of new policies to aid families through the budget for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025. Those requests include allowing parents who adopted children from private agencies to access Medicaid coverage and expanding a home-visit program providing health assistance to expectant mothers. 

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Testimony to Arizona Senate Election Committee Reveals Thousands of Misdemeanors Allegedly Committed by Maricopa County in 2022 Election

Rachel Alexander

The Arizona Senate’s Election Committee continued the second part of a hearing on Monday that began last week, featuring testimony from election integrity proponents. Shelby Busch, the co-founder of We the People AZ, and Heather Honey of Verify Vote, went over five areas where their team found apparent law violations by Maricopa County in the 2022 election.

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Rittman City Council Seeks to Reinstate Higher Tax Rates After Overtaxing Mistake

Hannah Poling

Angry community members confronted municipal leaders over taxes at a tense meeting on Monday after learning they had been overtaxed for 15 years.

Residents had the chance to express their concerns and ask questions of city council members and other local leaders while there was standing room only inside the Rittman Recreation Center. Most were irate after receiving a letter informing them that Rittman had been overtaxing them on municipal income tax.

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Commentary: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Has Already Killed Public Education

Admin

During the last few years, most conservatives have become at least dimly aware that leftist ideology, in the guise of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), has infected public education. It’s unlikely, however, that many Americans realize just how far the disease has advanced. It has long since spread beyond a few courses embedded into the social studies curricula of secondary schools and elite colleges. Public school students as young as 9 and 10 years of age effortlessly recite leftist shibboleths even as they descend into functional illiteracy in reading, writing, math, and science.

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Nation’s Highest-Paid Teachers Are Shutting Down Schools to Demand Higher Pay

Admin

Teachers of a Massachusetts school district are striking for a second day over higher pay, according to Boston 25 News.

Woburn Public School District canceled classes for a second day on Tuesday as teachers continue to strike for a 14.75% raise, an increase in salary for paraprofessionals and smaller class sizes, according to Boston 25 News. Massachusetts‘ teachers are among the highest paid teachers in the country, averaging more than $88,000 for a full time salary, according to World Population Review.

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