AG Merrick Garland’s Reason Why DOJ Has Prosecuted Few Pro-Life Pregnancy Center Firebombers: They Are Bombing at Night

Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland told Republican senators Wednesday his Department of Justice (DOJ) has prosecuted more pro-life Americans for peaceful protests at abortion clinics than enraged anti-life terrorists firebombing pregnancy care centers and vandalizing churches because pro-life people conduct their activities during the day while the domestic terrorists are doing their bombing at night.

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New Titans Lease Has ‘First-Class’ Clause That Led to $1.829 Billion City Obligation Claim

Nissan Stadium

A “first-class” condition requirement was at the forefront of Tennessee Titans Chief Executive Officer Burke Nihill claiming Metro Nashville would owe $1.839 billion in renovation costs at Nissan Stadium.

But a new lease agreement with the team for a new estimated $2.1 billion stadium, set to open in 2026, would also include a similar “first-class” requirement. The final documents were released publicly Wednesday before they are scheduled to receive a first reading at Tuesday’s Metro Nashville Council meeting.

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Tennessee Testing Vendor Pearson Testifies in House Education Instruction Committee

Tennessee’s testing vendor, Pearson, testified on Tuesday to House Education Instruction Committee members. Pearson supplies Tennessee schools with both the state’s annual TNReady test and the recently adopted universal reading screener, AimsWeb Plus. The company took over the multi-million dollar state contract to create and administer the annual standardized test in 2020 after several years of missteps by then-vendor Queststar.

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New Polls Show Trump Widening Lead over DeSantis with GOP Voters

Former President Donald Trump is gaining support from Republican voters and widening his lead over potential 2024 candidate Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, according to four new polls.

Trump received 55% of the hypothetical 2024 GOP primary vote, more than twice that of DeSantis, who received 25%, according to an Emerson College poll released Tuesday. A poll from Emerson last month showed that Trump led DeSantis 55%-29%.

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FDA Sued for Withholding Information About Children’s Use of Hormone Treatments

On Monday, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was sued for allegedly withholding records detailing the off-label use of hormone treatments, such as puberty blockers, by underaged children.

Fox News reports that the lawsuit was filed by Stephen Miller’s America First Legal (AFL) group, which had previously made a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request back in September regarding the use of such hormone drugs on children under the Biden Administration. After the FDA refused to respond to the request, AFL filed their lawsuit.

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Speaker Sexton Proposes Expanded Charter School Offerings

A newly amended caption bill, HB1214, that would allow for the establishment of charter schools serving homeschoolers and boarding charter schools has made it out of the House K-12 Subcommittee.

In presenting the bill for the author, House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville), on Tuesday, State Representative Mark White (R-Memphis) appeared to be unfamiliar with many of the details associated with the amendment. He acknowledged as much, chalking it up to the “lightning speed” legislators had been operating under.

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Commentary: Schools Are Pushing Gender Pronouns and Hiding It from Parents

A new report reveals students in the nation’s largest school districts are encouraged to change their names and pronouns without parental knowledge, even though those same schools require parental approval for over-the-counter medicine.

The report, released by The Defense of Freedom Institute for Policy Studies (DFI), found that “eight of the nation’s 20 largest school districts allow students to use names and pronouns at school aligned with their gender identity without parental knowledge and consent,” said DFI.

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Michigan State Senate OKs Tax Relief Without $180 Checks

The Michigan Senate approved a tax bill to boost the earned income tax credit and reduce retirement taxes, but doesn’t include the $180 inflation relief checks touted by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. 

Republicans withheld the needed votes to issue $800 million worth of $180 inflation relief checks. In a Feb. 16 vote, Republicans again refused to give immediate effect to House Bill 4001 because they preferred permanent tax relief over a one-time check.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Revisit Medical-Aid-in-Dying Proposals

Connecticut lawmakers are revisiting proposals that would authorize physicians to administer lethal doses of medicine to terminally ill patients.

A pair of bills being considered by the General Assembly would put Connecticut in line with Vermont, Maine and seven other states that have “death with dignity” statutes, also known as physician-assisted suicide or medical-aid-in-dying laws.

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Catholic University Drops Theology Degree, Nine Others

The Board of Marymount University unanimously voted on Friday to eliminate ten degree programs in the humanities and social sciences, including English, History, and Theology and Religious Studies.

Founded as the first Catholic college in Virginia in 1950, Marymount is affiliated with the Sacred Heart of Mary and serves approximately 3,500 students in its undergraduate and graduate programs.

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Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Warns NewsGuard Against ‘Disinformation’ Attack on Conservative Groups

Jimmy Patronis, the state of Florida’s chief financial officer, is warning the top executives of a so-called “disinformation” tracking group it’s playing with fire in targeting conservative organizations in what has been described as a defunding campaign. In a letter to NewsGuard CEOs and Editors-in-Chiefs Steven Brill and Gordon Crovitz, Patronis warns that he will not hesitate to “use the full force” of his office to shed light on an organization that has financially hurt conservative outlets with its rating system. “In short, your enterprise may affect the finances of your clients through triggering Florida’s divestment laws, and it may be subject to legislative scrutiny in the upcoming legislative session,” Florida’s CFO wrote. As the Washington Examiner reported last month in its series, “Disinformation Inc.,” NewsGuard is part of a growing army of self-styled “disinformation tracking organizations that are cracking down on conservative media and part of a lucrative operation that aims to defund disfavored speech.” As the Examiner reported: Major ad companies are increasingly seeking guidance from purportedly “nonpartisan” groups claiming to be detecting and fighting online “disinformation.” These same “disinformation” monitors are compiling secret website blacklists and feeding them to ad companies, with the aim of defunding and…

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State Representative: Liberal Wisconsin Group Accused of Election Bribery May Face Legal Action

State Representative Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls) on Wednesday said a leftist nonprofit could face legal action for its alleged election bribery in favor of state Supreme Court candidate Janet Protasiewicz. 

Brandtjen, who recently chaired the state Assembly Committee on Campaigns and Elections, told The Wisconsin Daily Star she believes discussions toward that end are underway though no complaints against Wisconsin Takes Action have yet been filed at this writing.

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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Opens Office Near Site of East Palestine Toxic Train Derailment

The head of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) stated on Tuesday that he wants to push the railroad to quickly clean up the mess because he doesn’t want any stigmas associated with the Ohio community where a train crashed and released poisonous chemicals three weeks ago.

The organization on Tuesday opened a office where people may register for cleaning services for their homes and places of business as well as air monitoring within their residences. Also, locals can visit the office to ask officials other queries about the cleanup work.

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Commentary: Liberal News Outlet Tramples the Truth in Reporting ‘Mispronouning’ as ‘Sexual Harassment’ Story

As readers may be aware, in the spring of 2022 my colleagues and I at the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty represented three eighth-grade boys who were accused by the Kiel Area School District of “sexual harassment” under Title IX for “mispronouning.”

As we pointed out, “mispronouning” does not violate Title IX and is not “sexual harassment” under any reasonable definition of that term, and punishing students for their speech violates the First Amendment. The district had also violated Title IX’s clear procedural requirements. We urged the district to drop its misguided investigation, and it ultimately did. 

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Anti-Regulatory Overreach Bill from State Representative Justin Wilmeth Passes Through House Floor

Arizona State Representative Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) announced that his bill, House Bill (HB) 2254, aimed at restricting the state from enacting overreaching regulations, passed through the House Floor on Tuesday.

“Burdensome regulations can lead to higher prices, fewer small businesses, and fewer jobs,” said Wilmeth. “HB 2254 says legislative approval would be required before high-cost rules could be implemented by the state.”

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Ohio Representative Introduces Bill to Provide Tax Relief to East Palestine Residents

Republican Ohio Rep. Bill Johnson introduced a bill on Wednesday to provide tax relief to residents affected by a train derailment that cast a toxic chemical plume over an eastern Ohio town.

The East Palestine Tax Relief Act would exempt residents and businesses from paying taxes on any relief payments received after a Norfolk Southern train derailed on Feb. 3, the bill reads. The train carried toxic chemicals including vinyl chloride which were released into the environment days after the derailment through a controlled burn ordered to prevent an explosion.

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Arizona Republican Legislative Leaders Reach Out to Gov. Hobbs to Negotiate a State Budget

With a potential government shutdown looming on the horizon, State House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) and Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) sent a letter to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) Tuesday requesting a meeting to discuss ways to compromise on the state budget.

“In our first and only meeting to discuss the budget, your office stated it was unwilling to receive feedback or take questions. Obviously, we need some level of agreement to pass a budget. We believe we can achieve most of our priorities and including yours that are reasonable,” the Legislators wrote in their joint letter.

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Full Video Provides Context to Ohio Educators’ Critical Race Theory Strategy

In January, a multi-part undercover investigation throughout the state of Ohio revealed that educators were preparing to skirt a potential law against Critical Race Theory (CRT) and are covertly introducing these divisive concepts to their students unbeknownst to their parents.

Following the release of Accuracy in Media’s (AIM) investigation that outraged parents and residents throughout the state some of the exposed school districts attempted to dismiss the investigation as “lacking context.”

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Commentary: We Need School Resource Officers in Education

Reducing school violence is a national imperative. Frequently school officials and police officials have different perceptions of the role of law enforcement in public education. Policing in an educational setting truly is a unique challenge.

Tennessee has historically done a good job ensuring the safety and security of school employees and students. However, we continue to have incidents. The key is to keep vigilant.  Tennessee should invite two great resources Mo Canady of the National Association of School Resource Officers and Phil Keith, the former head of community policing for the Department of Justice to testify on school safety prior to the passage of any legislation.    

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GOP Representative Questions Biden Admin over Alleged ‘Fraud’ in Sponsorship Program for Illegal Migrant Kids

Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden sent a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra Tuesday asking him to address alleged mishandling of illegal alien children released into the U.S. amid concerns over improper vetting of sponsors caring for them.

Gooden asked Becerra to answer to alleged improper vetting of sponsors caring for unaccompanied alien children, according to the letter. The letter comes after the Biden administration began probing factories allegedly employing illegal alien children in inhumane conditions, some of which were released to sponsors they didn’t know well or at all.

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