Day: February 14, 2023

Governor DeWine: ‘We Made the Decision to Go Ahead with the Controlled Release’ at East Palestine, Ohio Train Derailment Site on February 6

Hannah Poling

Following the catastrophic train derailment on February 3rd and controlled release of poisonous gasses in East Palestine, Ohio that wrecked havoc on the environment and negatively impacted the health of residents Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s press secretary told The Ohio Star that the controlled burn was the “least bad option.”

Press secretary Dan Tierney told The Star that officials from state agencies, federal agencies, and Norfolk-Southern were in collaborative communication regarding the emerging chemical threat at the East Palestine.

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Ohio Governor and EPA Provide Update on Train Derailment in East Palestine

Just the News

Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio held a press conference on Tuesday to provide an update on the train that derailed near East Palestine, Ohio, along the Ohio Pennsylvania border on Feb. 3, and the controlled burn that has turned into a Hazmat situation.

The decision to do this controlled explosion he said was basically made between bad options that they had. They believed that one of these cars was going to explode. Addressing the environmental concerns, DeWine said that the Ohio and U.S. Environmental are working to slow the flow of contaminated water.

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Government School Districts Plan K-12 Closures as Student Enrollment Plunges

Susan Berry, PhD

Some of the largest public school districts in the nation are planning to close K-12 schools as they face plummeting student enrollment rates.

“Nationwide, public school enrollment fell by more than 1.4 million students to 49.4 million between fall 2019 and fall 2020—a decline of roughly 3%, according to data from the U.S. Education Department,” reported the Wall Street Journal in January. “The following school year, enrollment failed to return to prepandemic levels and remained roughly flat.”

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TN State Director of Faith and Freedom Coalition Praises State Senate for Passing SB 1, Which Prohibits Gender Mutilation of Children Younger Than 18

Julie Carr

Tuesday 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 Aaron Gulbransen, director of Tennessee’s Faith and Freedom Coalition, in studio to discuss the passing of SB 1 in the State Senate which would not allow gender transition surgeries to children under the age of 18.

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The Progressive Movement to Ban New Homes from Having Any Natural Gas Gains Steam

Admin

by John Hugh DeMastri   A growing number of states and cities are considering or implementing bans for the future construction of not just gas stoves, but natural gas hookups themselves, a move that would raise costs for consumers and potentially have negative environmental consequences, natural gas advocates told the Daily Caller News Foundation. Lawmakers in the state of Minnesota introduced legislation Wednesday that would permit the state’s Commissioner of Labor and Industry to amend the state’s energy code to “mitigate the impact of climate change,” a directive that could be used to justify a ban on natural gas, according to the free-market Minnesota think-tank Center of the American Experiment. California and New York are weighing statewide bans which would not only increase costs, but may not have the climate benefits advocates hope for, Dan Kish, senior fellow at the Institute for Energy Research told the DCNF. “Natural gas is our cleanest fossil [fuel] and it is responsible for the U.S. reducing carbon dioxide emissions more than other country, largely because we have centuries of the stuff.” Kish told the DCNF. “God blessed North America with enormous energy wealth, and our only impediment is power-hungry politicians who want to make energy more expensive and more foreign, while bossing…

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Lois Lerner 2.0: IRS Chilling Dissent with Interrogation of Nonprofit, Election Integrity Activist Says

Just the News

Much as the Obama IRS targeted conservative groups for audits, the tax collection agency has subjected an elections nonprofit to a battery of prying questions about its policy positions, language choices and methodology for arriving at correct opinions and conclusions prior to peremptorily rejecting its application for tax-exempt status without appeal.

Starting in 2010, the IRS Exempt Organizations Unit directed by Lois Lerner targeted the Tea Party and other conservative groups for intrusive scrutiny, effectively freezing them with lengthy audits. After the politically motivated harassment was exposed in 2013, the Obama administration claimed to find the IRS actions “inexcusable.” But after Lerner invoked her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying before Congress and the House cited her for contempt, the Obama Justice Department declined to pursue criminal charges.

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Report: Kyrsten Sinema Founded Consulting Firm with Former State Rep. Chad Campell, who has Ties to Predatory Loan Interests

Neil Jones

A new report from The Intercept_ shows that Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (I) founded a consulting firm known as Forza Consulting, LLC (FCLLC) in partnership with former State Rep. Chad Campell (D-Phoenix), who has supported payday lending interests in the past.

According to the Arizona Corporation Commission (ACC), the FCLLC was formed in September 2007, with Sinema and former State Rep. David Lujan (D-Phoenix) listed as the Managers. Campbell was listed as a member, and the company is still active, according to the ACC.

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Police Reports: ‘Strange’ Man Threatened to Drive Jeep Into Kari Lake Event In Iowa

M.D. Kittle

The Iowa Star has learned that an unidentified man threatened to drive his Jeep into the suburban Des Moines venue where Arizona Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake was holding a rally Saturday evening. 

The “scruffy and big” man, according to police incident reports obtained by The Star, “declared that he was god, and stated he would drive his vehicle through the bar doors.” 

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Senator Ron Johnson Calls for ‘Maximum Transparency’ as More UFOs Are Shot Down

M.D. Kittle

U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) said ‘maximum transparency” from the Biden administration is critical after the U.S. military shot down yet  another unidentified flying object over the weekend — this time near Wisconsin airspace. 

The incident marked the fourth aerial vessel struck down over North American airspace since Feb. 4, when U.S. fighter jets liquidated a suspected Chinese spy balloon.

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Southern Florida Continues to See Record Apprehensions, Gotaways of Illegal Immigrants

Admin

In January, Border Patrol agents apprehended 1,402 foreign nationals illegally entering Florida, according to preliminary data obtained by The Center Square from a Border Patrol agent on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. 

They also reported 58 gotaways, those who were known and reported to have illegally entered and got evaded capture by law enforcement. Combined, these totaled 1,460.

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Former Longtime Iowa Governor Terry Branstad Says DNC Will Live to Regret Caucus Decision

M.D. Kittle

The longest-serving governor in U.S. history says the Democratic National Committee made a huge mistake in turning its back on Iowa. 

Terry Branstad,  a Republican who served a record six terms as Iowa governor, tells The Iowa Star the DNC decision to cast aside the Hawkeye State’s preeminent position as host of the first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses will prove costly. 

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Commentary: ‘Conservatives Need Not Apply’ Under Biden Administration’s Proposed Hiring Rules

Admin

In a move that has gotten little notice in the press, the Biden administration is proposing federal hiring rules that easily could be abused to deny employment to anyone who questions liberal, woke policies, criticizes the government, or belongs to a politically incorrect organization.

The vague, nebulous language of the proposed changes in existing government hiring regulations could be exploited and allow biased government managers to put up a virtual “Conservatives Need Not Apply” sign when it comes to the federal civil service, leaving rejected applicants with little recourse.

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Ecological Disaster Unfolds After Ohio Toxic Train Derailment; Transportation Secretary Buttigieg Ignores

Hannah Poling
East Palestine Train Wreck

The effects on the environment and the local population after a flaming train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio are still being assessed.

Following the derailment of 50 train carriages, 10 of which were carrying hazardous materials, in East Palestine on February 3rd, officials permitted locals to return home last week. Hundreds of residents had to be evacuated as a result of the controlled release of poisonous gasses that was carried out on February 6th to stop an explosion.

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Wilson County School Board Ethics Committee Dismisses Most Complaints Against Conservative Board Member

Susan Berry, PhD

The Wilson County Board of Education (WCBOE) Ethics Committee in Tennessee dismissed most of the complaints from nine parents and community members against retired Marine Joe Padilla, who won his Zone 4 seat in August along with three other conservative Republicans.

One speaker at the ethics committee meeting held Thursday evening, accused Padilla of posting to his Facebook account that he disagrees with transgender hormone drugs and surgeries for minors, claiming such a post constitutes “propping up right-wing talking points.”

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Walz Officials Pull Homeschool Reporting Requirement After Minnesota Parents Speak Out

Admin

More than 100 homeschool advocates filled an overflow room during a Minnesota House of Representatives committee hearing this week on Gov. Tim Walz’s education policy bill.

Students and their parent educators were in attendance seeking answers as to why the bill, HF1269, included a provision that would require homeschool providers to submit their students’ standardized test scores to local school districts.

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The Goldwater Institute Refutes Claims from Katie Hobbs that the Universal ESA Program Will ‘Bankrupt’ Arizona

Neil Jones

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) spoke with Shannon Bream of Fox News for an interview Sunday, where she spoke about her opinions of the State’s Universal Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program. Hobbs is an open opponent of the program and told Bream that the program would “bankrupt our state” if allowed to continue; however, the Arizona-based Goldwater Institute (GI), a proponent of the program, said this is far from the truth.

“This claim is completely detached from objective reality,” said GI Director of Education Policy Matt Beienburg in a statement emailed to The Arizona Sun Times. “The ESA expansion makes up less than 2% of what is spent on Arizona public school students each year, is dwarfed by the hundreds of millions of dollars of extra funding added to public schools this year alone by state lawmakers, and provides students an education at thousands of dollars less per child than it would cost to educate them in the public school system.” 

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Ohio Governor DeWine Aims to Double Sports Betting Tax Rate in Proposed Budget

Hannah Poling

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is attempting to double the tax rate from 10 percent to 20 percent just over a month after sports betting became legal in the state. This increase is part of his biennial executive budget plan for the 2024–2025 fiscal years.

The budget doubles the tax on sports wagering that casinos and teams operating mobile sportsbooks must pay. A Bloomberg Tax analysis shows that the tax is just a little bit higher than the average 19 percent levied by other states.

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Wisconsin Senator Baldwin Proposes Tax Increase for Corporations With Overseas Locations

Bradley Vasoli

U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) is urging fellow members of Congress to pass a measure to raise taxes on corporations with operations in low-tax foreign countries. 

The legislation, called the No Tax Breaks for Outsourcing Act, would effect American participation in a global minimum tax, a major Biden-administration policy priority. In 2021, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen joined 130 nations to negotiate a framework to equalize corporate taxation so companies could not escape high taxes in their home countries. Two months ago, all 27 member states of the European Union agreed on a plan for their involvement in such a system. 

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Former Mesa Police Officer Indicted by Maricopa County Grand Jury for Counts of Endangerment

Neil Jones

Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell (R) announced Friday that former Mesa Police Officer Kaylon Hall was indicted by the Maricopa County Grand Jury for two counts of reckless endangerment.

“As County Attorney, I will hold those who break the law accountable. An individual’s profession does not impact decision making in my office when deciding if criminal charges are warranted. The community’s trust in our criminal justice system can only be achieved if those sworn to serve and protect are held accountable when criminal acts occur,” said Mitchell.

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Emails Reveal National Archives Staff Worked to Quietly Collect Biden Records, After Escalating with Trump

Just the News

The National Archives (NARA) coordinated with President Biden’s attorneys for the discreet collection of classified documents found at the Penn Biden Center in Washington, D.C., displaying a collaborative spirit in marked contrast to its adversarial stance toward Donald Trump and his legal team in the former president’s federal records case, newly disclosed emails reveal.

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Commentary: The Chivalrous Advocates for Human Rights Behind Today’s Valentine’s Day

Admin

Valentine’s Day annoys many people.

For many in a relationship, the pressure to impress a partner can weigh heavily, and expensive gifts serve as a reminder of the relentless commercialization of the holiday. Meanwhile those still looking for love approach the day with trepidation – another reminder of their single status and the pressure to find a partner.

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California School District Refuses to Let Parents Opt Kids Out of ‘Anti-Racist’ Classes

Admin

In California, a public school district is ordering its teachers to tell the parents of students that their children cannot opt out of diversity classes featuring “anti-racist” lessons, and gender and sexual identity.

According to the Daily Caller, the Hayward Unified School District (HUSD) gave the order in a staff-wide email dictating the terms of the district’s “Non- Discrimination & Harassment and Equity & Anti–Racism” policy. The order declares that any effort to let children opt out of such classes would be enabling “active discrimination.” While the email does say parents are allowed to opt their children out of classes on “comprehensive sexuality education,” they are still required to take classes with “anti-bias lessons about people who are LGBTQ.”

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