Month: February 2023

Arizona Senate Rocked by Claims of Election Violations, as Lake Presses Appeal in Challenge to 2022 Vote

Just the News

The Arizona Court of Appeals held a private conference Wednesday in Kari Lake’s election challenge, as a state Senate panel is hearing explosive allegations of 2022 election failures in Maricopa County, and the Democrat Secretary of State seeks to have Lake, the 2022 GOP nominee for governor, prosecuted for tweeting evidence from the public Senate hearings of mismatched ballot signatures.

The appeals court’s conference was regarding Lake’s appeal of a December decision in Maricopa County Superior Court rejecting her election lawsuit against county election officials and Gov. Katie Hobbs. Lake’s suit alleged that numerous irregularities in the 2022 gubernatorial election, including election machine issues in nearly 60% of the county’s 115 vote centers, effectively suppressed heavily Republican Election Day vote.

Read the full story

Four Lawmakers Sent Thousands of Campaign Funds to CCP-Linked News Organization

Admin

Four members of the House of Representatives funneled campaign money to a Chinese government-backed company during the 2022 election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission.

Democratic NY Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democratic NY Rep. Grace Meng, Democratic CA Rep. Kevin Mullin, and Republican  NY Rep. Nicole Malliotakis sent thousands of dollars to Sing Tao U.S., a subsidiary of the Hong Kong-based Sing Tao News Corporation, according to the FEC. The money was used for campaign advertisements in Chinese publications in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Unacceptable Cost of Open-Border Mission Creep

Admin
U.S. Border Patrol agents assigned to the McAllen station encounter large group after large group of family units in Los Ebanos, Texas, on Friday June 15. This group well in excess of 100 family units turned themselves into the U.S. Border Patrol, after crossing the border illegally and walking through the town of Los Ebanos.

One of the pitfalls of political extremism is that a few bad foundational ideas beget a host of even worse ideas and results. Such is the case with our immigration crisis, as what began with faculty lounge bull sessions has become accepted government policy that now threatens America’s future.

The idea that America’s borders should be softened to the point that any noncitizen could enter the country on his own terms was always problematic. From that flawed logic has come an intricate web of problems that most in our government have no will, no courage, and no competence to repair.

Read the full story

NBC Claims Law Enforcement ‘Did Not Act on Intelligence’ Ahead of January 6th

Admin

On Tuesday, NBC host Lester Holt claimed that federal law enforcement did not do enough to combat the peaceful protests that took place at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021, Fox News reports.

“The January 6 Committee’s final report was more than 800 pages,” Holt said in his report. “But some material did not make the cut, including much of its findings on the failures of federal law enforcement leading up to the attack.”

Read the full story

Chinese Communist Party-Linked Companies Are Purchasing U.S. Military Academies, Florida Congressman Warns

Just the News

Companies linked to the Chinese Communist Party are purchasing U.S. military academies with officer training programs across the country, warns Florida GOP Rep. Michael Waltz.

“It’s incredibly concerning that there are American private schools owned by companies with strong ties to the Chinese Communist Party,” said Waltz, a member of the House Armed Services Committee and a Green Beret.

Read the full story

Michael Patrick Leahy on Bannon’s WarRoom: Memphis Police Department Statement on Rumors Tyre Nichols Was Targeted for Personal Reasons Sounds Like A Non-Denial Denial

Julie Carr

Thursday morning on WarRoom: Battleground, Stephen K. Bannon welcomed The Star News Network’s CEO and Editor and Chief, Michael Patrick Leahy to the show to discuss the Memphis Police Department’s lack of information surrounding the alleged murder of Tyre Nichols.

Read the full story

Memphis Official: Investigators Are Looking Into Rumors of Tyre Nichols’ Relationship with Former Police Officer’s Wife

M.D. Kittle

Investigators are looking into a rumored connection between Tyre Nichols and the wife of one of the former officer charged in his murder, the Shelby County District Attorney’s office now tells Newsweek. 

The revelation comes after a Memphis Police Department spokeswoman told The Tennessee Star there was no evidence to support rumors of Nichols’ involvement with the wife of ex-cop Demetrius Haley. 

Read the full story

Utah Bans Gender Transition Surgeries, Puberty Blockers for Minors

Susan Berry, PhD

Utah Governor Spencer Cox (R) signed a bill last week prohibiting gender transition surgeries and puberty blockers for minors in most situations.

Cox signed the Transgender Medical Treatments and Procedures Amendments (SB 16), introduced by State Senator Mike Kennedy (R), a physician, which bans “permanent and life-altering” gender transition treatments for minors as well as puberty blockers for patients not already diagnosed with gender dysphoria.

Read the full story

Watchdog Groups Call for Expanded Search for Biden Classified Documents

M.D. Kittle

The FBI searched President Joe Biden’s Delaware beach home Wednesday amid the 46th president’s ongoing documents scandal. 

FBI officials said the search uncovered no new classified documents, but government watchdogs are calling on the Justice Department to widen its net amid concerns the Biden administration has been less than forthright about the records quest thus far. 

Read the full story

Medical Group Pokes Holes in ‘Fatally Flawed’ Study Claiming to Prove Kids Benefit From Transgender Hormones

Admin

An organization of doctors, nurses, and health care professionals poked holes in a study claiming to prove the marginal benefits of cross-sex hormones for teenagers who persistently identify with the gender opposite their biological sex.

The group, Do No Harm, called the study “fatally flawed and borderline unscientific” in a report first provided to The Daily Signal. The report criticizes the study, “Psychosocial Functioning in Transgender Youth after 2 Years of Hormones,” led by Dr. Diane Chen at the Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and published by the New England Journal of Medicine in January.

Read the full story

American Classical Education Submits Charter School Applications in Five Tennessee Counties

TC Weber

Wednesday marked the deadline for charter school applicants to submit their packages to local school boards in counties where they wish to establish a new charter school, and American Classical Education (ACE) has submitted applications in five Tennessee counties.

ACE board member and former Tennessee State Senator Dolores Gresham, who retired while serving as Senate Education Chair in 2020, told The Tennessee Star the charter school operator submitted paperwork to  Rutherford, Clarksville-Montgomery, Jackson-Madison, Maury, and Robertson Counties.

Read the full story

Border 911 Conference in Phoenix Exposes How Bad Cartels, Human Trafficking and Fentanyl Have Become

Rachel Alexander

The America Project (TAP) held a conference on border security Saturday in Phoenix at the Hershberger Theater. The Border 911 event featured leading experts on human trafficking, cartels, and drugs coming over the border, including former acting ICE Director Tom Homan, who also served as a Border Patrol agent in Phoenix.

Homan said, “Under President Trump, we had the most secure border in my lifetime.” He discussed all the progress Trump made, such as getting countries to accept illegal immigrants back, Title 42 restrictions, and implementing the Remain in Mexico program.

Read the full story

Georgia Officials Roll Out Increased Penalties for Gang Crimes

The Center Square

Georgia Republicans formally rolled out legislation to increase penalties for those who recruit minors into gangs.

Senate Bill 44, introduced by state Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, also mandates minimum sentences for gang offenses currently on the books in Georgia. It would allow prosecutors and judges to consider lower sentences only in some situations, including where a defendant renders “substantial assistance” in identifying, arresting or convicting other gang members.

Read the full story

Wisconsin’s Labor Force Participation Rate Lower than the Worst Days of the Pandemic

M.D. Kittle

In his state of the state address last month, Gov. Tony Evers boasted about Wisconsin’s low unemployment rate. What the Democrat failed to mention is Wisconsin’s dismal labor participation rate, a number that underscores one of the biggest economic challenges facing Badger State businesses. 

“Our labor force participation rate is worse today than it was at the bottom point of COVID when our economy was shut down,” said Scott Manley, Executive Vice President of Government Relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. 

Read the full story

Athens County GOP Will Not Comply with Ohio GOP Censure of State Rep Edwards for Disregarding Party Obligations and Voting for Speaker Stephens

Hannah Poling

Following the Ohio Republican censure of the 22 lawmakers who voted with Democrats last month to choose the new Speaker of the Ohio House, saying they had disregarded their obligations to the party and the public, the Athens County GOP has said that they will not comply with the state party’s censure of Representative Jay Edwards (R-Nelsonville).

Edwards was among the 22 GOP representatives who joined forces with the Democrats to choose State Representative Jason Stephens (R-Kitts Hill) as speaker. The choice came despite the Republican Caucus‘ previous selection in November of State Representative Derek Merrin (R-Moncolva) as the new speaker.

Read the full story

Man Charged with Public Indecency After Using Women’s Changing Facilities in Xenia YMCA

Hannah Poling

A male stating he is a female has been charged with three counts of public indecency for using the women’s changing facilities at the Xenia YMCA. This comes just weeks after Green County prosecutor David Hayes requested an opinion from Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost clarifying if Ohio civil rights law requires local governments to permit individuals to use public restrooms according to their stated gender identity rather than their biological sex.

Darren Glines was accused of three charges of public indecency at Xenia Municipal Court for instances that occurred in September, November, and a third time between November 2021 and 2022 and involved three young girls. The accusations are all misdemeanors in the fourth degree.

Read the full story

Commentary: Curious That Greta Thunberg Won’t Stage Climate Protests in China

Admin

by David Blackmon   Climate change activist Greta Thunberg made news recently when she was arrested during a protest at a coal mining site near Lutzerath, Germany. The news did not come so much from her arrest by German police dressed up in riot gear, but by the obvious staging of the event with the full cooperation of the policemen and the press covering the event. Ms. Thunberg and the officers no doubt assumed video of all the obvious staging and repeated takes from different angles would not leak, but leak it did, revealing the phoniness of it all. Such staging of major “news” events is not really anything new, but it is revelatory of Thunberg’s real role as a crisis actor for the climate alarmist movement. It is a role she appears to have been raised by her parents to fulfill, but her staging choices raise some questions about her sincerity to the supposed cause. Put simply: Ms. Thunberg seems to aim her protests at the wrong targets. For example, why is it that the Thunberg campaign to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide has never traveled to China? China is, after all, the world’s biggest carbon emitter by far. Oxford Analytics recently published a chart,…

Read the full story

Leon County Commissioner: The AP African American History Course Is ‘Trash’

Just the News

Leon County Commissioner Bill Proctor, a black Florida Democrat, said the AP African American Studies course is “trash,” siding with Florida Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis in opposition to the class due to its focus on queer and feminist ideology.

Florida rejected the College Board AP course from the state’s curriculum last month because it was “filled with Critical Race Theory and other obvious violations of Florida law,” State Commissioner of Education Manny Diaz Jr. said.

Read the full story

Michigan County Spurns $1.5 Million in Private Election Funding Amid Growing ‘Zuckerbucks’ Backlash

Just the News

A clerk in Ottawa County, Mich., has declined a $1.5 million election grant from a nonprofit linked to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, citing qualms about accepting private funds for public election administration, as a growing number of states and localities across the nation are moving to refuse, restrict or ban so-called “Zuckerbucks.”

Ottawa County Clerk Justin Roebuck announced Tuesday that he was removing the elections division of his office from consideration for funding by the U.S. Alliance for Election Excellence, after reporting in November that the county was a finalist in the network’s “Centers for Election Excellence” program.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Representative Proposes Expanding E-Verify

Bradley Vasoli

A Pennsylvania lawmaker is asking colleagues to support an expansion of the state’s mandate that contractors use the E-Verify system to ensure they only hire legal U.S. residents. 

State Representative Ryan Mackenzie (R-Macungie) this week began circulating a memorandum seeking co-sponsors for his upcoming legislation that would require all public contractors and subcontractors to use the federal government’s E-Verify website. Established in the late nineties and now run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the site lets employers avail themselves of it free of charge. The system cross-references information from workers’ Employment Eligibility Verification Form I-9 with preexisting government data to determine whether a hire is living in America legally. 

Read the full story

Metro Nashville Public Schools Set to Hold Taxpayer-Funded, Out-of-State Summer Retreat

TC Weber

In June, Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) principals are heading north to Louisville, Kentucky for a summer retreat, or as the Nashville school district likes to call it, Principal Splash. MNPS spokesman Sean Braisted tells The Tennessee Star that, “Principal Splash is an opportunity for tier-based and cluster-based planning and professional learning that also allows for peer bonding.”

While in Louisville, they’ll be put up by the district at the Galt House Hotel. As participants of the Splash, Braisted says, “Principals with Academies programs will stay two nights, and one night for remaining principals.” He goes on to tell The Star, “Group transportation will be provided by the district, and we are anticipating approximately 180 staff altogether. Transportation and meals are provided for MNPS personnel, but spouses are allowed to join and stay in the hotel if they so choose.”

Read the full story

Florida’s DeSantis Seeks Tax Relief in Proposed $114 Billion Budget

The Center Square

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference in Tallahassee Wednesday to discuss his “Framework for Freedom” budget.

DeSantis’ proposed $114.8 billion budget contains some tax relief measures as the economy in the Sunshine State has performed far better than other states. Last year the state surplus was over $20 billion, and DeSantis stated that this money needs to go back to the people.

Read the full story

Pennsylvania Governor Orders Refunds Licensing, Permitting Fees for Slow State Processing

The Center Square

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said Tuesday the state will refund residents every time it delays processing applications for occupational licenses, certifications and permits.

“Under my administration, Pennsylvanians will have certainty,” he said. “They will know how long it will take for agencies to respond, and if an agency doesn’t live up to that promise, they deserve their money back.”

Read the full story

Minnesota Democrats Celebrate New Law Enshrining Abortion at Anytime During Pregnancy

Susan Berry, PhD

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) signed legislation Tuesday that has been condemned by the pro-life community as the most extreme abortion measure in the nation, one that creates a “fundamental right” to abortion at any time during pregnancy, and denies parents the right to know if their minor daughter undergoes an abortion.

Walz signed the Protect Reproductive Options (PRO) Act to enshrine in state statute a “fundamental right” to abortion, without any restrictions, and to contraception, sterilization, fertility treatment.

Read the full story

Rules Governing New School Funding Formula Pass Out of the Joint Government Operations Committee Meeting, Moves Toward Full Implementation

TC Weber

The rules governing Tennessee’s new K-12 education funding formula – Tennessee Investment in Student Achievement (TISA) – took another step towards full adoption on Monday, passing out of the Tennessee General Assembly’s Joint Government Operations Committee with a positive review. On the State House side, the proposed rules passed by a majority, with only 5 “nay” votes. While on the State Senate side, things were much closer, with a 4-2 in favor.

Read the full story

Republican Arizona State Legislature Moves Forward with Proposed Continuation Budget Despite Democrat Backlash

Neil Jones

Republican Arizona state legislators of the House and Senate are moving forward with their previously proposed continuation budget, referred to as a “skinny budget,” which members call the financially responsible move to ensure state entities are funded and continue without issue.

“This is a budget that recognizes the political and economic realities in our state right now. It’s a responsible plan based on the budget funding approved last session with bipartisan support. It fully funds our state’s obligations and ensures that essential functions of state government will continue without interruption,” said State Representative David Livingston (R-Peoria).

Read the full story

Sinema Leans on California to Join Colorado River Water Pact

The Center Square

As six states wait for California to join its Colorado River Basin water use agreement, Arizona Sen. Kyrsten Sinema called on the state to be willing to seal the deal.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Reclamation on Tuesday, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado all agreed to work toward finding the best way to distribute the water source, which is facing drought conditions, but California was the missing signature.

Read the full story

Virginia House of Delegates Passes Bill Eliminating Age Restriction for Military Benefit Tax Relief

The Center Square

Virginia may soon make younger veterans eligible for an income tax subtraction on military retirement pay under a bill that received bipartisan support in the House of Delegates Tuesday. 

House Bill 1436 received broad bipartisan support during a floor vote in the House Tuesday, passing out of the chamber in a 98-0 vote. The bill, authored by Del. John McGuire, R-Goochland, would remove the existing 55 and older age restriction for individuals eligible for a military benefits income tax subtraction. 

Read the full story

Fed Hikes Interest Rates to Highest Levels in 15 Years

Admin

by John Hugh DeMastri   The Federal Reserve raised its target federal-funds interest rate by a quarter percentage point Wednesday, the slowest in a series of eight hikes that began in March 2022. The hike brings the Fed’s target rate to a range between 4.5 percent and 4.75 percent, with the Fed continuing to slow its pace after six consecutive hikes of more than 0.5 percentage points, according to a Fed press release. While Fed officials have consistently said that they anticipated a pause after the target funds rate surpassed 5 percent, investors have increasingly expected that the Fed will change its tune by its next meeting — scheduled for May 2-3, 2023 —if inflation continues to drop, Bloomberg reported. The disconnect between the Fed and investor expectations has put Fed officials in a “difficult spot,” Will Luther, the director of the American Institute of Economic Research’s Sound Money Project, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “Fed officials can either meet expectations where they are, which might mean they fail to bring down inflation as quickly as they would like, or surprise markets by delivering the projected rate hikes, which would bring down inflation but at the risk of a potentially severe recession.” Current…

Read the full story

Commentary: The Government Wants Your Raincoat

Admin

Two recent proposals that the federal government are considering in the name of consumer safety have Uncle Sam coming after products millions of Americans use every day. While a potential gas stove ban has received several headlines in recent days, millions of Americans may not know that the government has also had a role in beginning the phasing out of a chemical that is a component in so many products that it will likely impact every American in the country.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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.

Read the full story

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…

Read the full story