Lawmakers Respond to Tennessee Star Report on ETSU’s Embracing of DEI Policies, In Spite of State Law

William Block, M.D., dean of medicine at East Tennessee State University’s Quillen College of Medicine, recently sent out an email, in which he defined the words “equity” as “the quality of being fair and impartial,” and “woke” as “aware of and actively attentive to important societal facts and issues (especially issues of racial and social justice).” The email is one of several in which Dean appears to be placing the tenets of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) over those of achievement. It is a position that runs counter to recently passed Tennessee state law, raising questions and concerns with state lawmakers.

Read the full story

Bills to Shift Nashville Airport, Sports Authority Power from City to State Proceed

A pair of bills to change the way two Nashville boards are chosen advanced in committee Wednesday.

The Senate Government Operations Committee recommended bills to change the way the Nashville’s Metropolitan Sports Authority and the Metropolitan Airport Authority are selected from local selections to selections from Tennessee government, including the governor, lieutenant governor and house speaker.

Read the full story

Red Cross Packets Show Migrants Where to Cross the U.S. Border

The American Red Cross has maps and guides for migrants to make the dangerous journeys to the U.S.-Mexico border, according to documents exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The map, which is part of a packet stamped with the International Committee of the Red Cross and American Red Cross logos, shows a list of resources, including hotels, clinics and shelters where migrants can get support in Mexico and Central America. The maps include clearly defined lines leading to cities along the U.S. border. The organization also has a guide to “self care” along the journey, which includes tips on how to survive the desert and disease, how to safely jump on trains, and how to obtain contraceptives.

Read the full story

Slave Labor Clouded Plunging U.S. Solar Market in 2022

U.S. solar panel installations plummeted in 2022 as lingering supply chain issues hindered the industry, although forecasters anticipate a bounceback and significant growth over the next decade, according to a joint report from the industry trade group Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and research analytics firm Woods Mackenzie released Thursday.

The primary cause of the decline was a significant disruption in the solar panel supply chain caused by detentions of Chinese solar panel materials by U.S. Customs and Border Protection over concerns that the products were developed by the forced labor of Uighur muslims, according to the report. While 2022 was a “tough year” for solar, supply chain issues are expected to be resolved in 2023, leading to a 41% surge in installations, Michelle Davis, principal analyst at Wood Mackenzie and lead author of the report, said in a press release Thursday.

Read the full story

Florida Judge Strikes Down Biden Administration ‘Catch and Release’ Border Policy

A federal judge in Florida ruled Wednesday that the Biden Administration’s “catch and release” border policy is illegal.

Federal Judge T. Kent Wetherell, of the Pensacola Division of the Northern District of Florida, entered a 109-page ruling ruling that the policy that allows Border Patrol agents to release undocumented immigrants who cross the border to the United States instead of deporting them is illegal and “should be struck down.”

Read the full story

Norfolk Southern CEO Tells US Senate Committee Vinyl Chloride Controlled Burn Decision ‘Made by a Unified Command Under the Direction of the Incident Commander,’ East Palestine Fire Chief Drabick

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw faced questions about who authorized the controlled burn at a Senate hearing on Thursday as Washington lawmakers held their first hearing on railroad safety about a month after a train carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, Ohio.

U.S. Senator Markwayne Mullins (R-OK) asked Shaw “when the vent and burn process was being made, who made those decisions and what were the considerations other than just burning it and letting the material burn off.”

Read the full story

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes Sues Cochise County for Assigning Election Duties to Recorder Like Maricopa County Did for Years

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against the Cochise County Supervisors for delegating election duties to Cochise County Recorder David Stevens, an election integrity proponent. However, from the 1950s to 2019, Maricopa County had an agreement with its county recorder to oversee elections. Three other counties delegate those responsibilities to their recorders as well. 

Jennifer Wright, who served as the Election Integrity Unit’s civil attorney under previous Attorney General Mark Brnovich, tweeted, “So, will @krismayes also be suing @maricopacounty for their MOU delegating BOS responsibilities to the CR? Anyone remember when Fontes was stripped of BOS delegated responsibilities, the press lamented how elections were 100% the CR’s job? Oh, the hypocrisy. #AbuseOfPower”

Read the full story

Pennsylvania House Republicans Unhappy Special Election to Replace Accused Harasser Zabel Is Delayed

Some Pennsylvania state House Republicans are unhappy with the timetable their legislative rivals have set forth to replace Representative Mike Zabel (D-Drexel Hill) who is resigning in light of sexual harassment allegations. 

Representative Craig Williams (R-Chadds Ford) tweeted his reaction to these events, excoriating the Democrats for asserting they have majority control of the House of Representatives, even though their number would tie that of Republicans at 101. He furthermore blasted them for failing to schedule a special election for the May 16 primary, something that could happen if Zabel made his resignation effective before March 16. A special election will instead take place this fall. 

Read the full story

Iowa Republicans Advance Bill to Block Spending on ‘Woke Agenda’ in State Universities

A bill passed by an Iowa House committee and currently making its way through the state House aims to put a stop to the woke agenda in state colleges and universities by prohibiting the schools from spending on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) offices and personnel working in roles associated with such ideology.

“For too long, the DEI bureaucracies at our institutions of higher education have been used to push a woke agenda on the faculty, staff and students,” Iowa state Rep. Taylor Collins told Fox News. “Under the guise of diversity and inclusion, these programs work to indoctrinate students into their preferred political ideology.”

Read the full story

Virginia’s Temporary COVID-19 Benefits Assistance Programs Ending Soon

Temporary benefits enacted during the COVID-19 pandemic attached to medical coverage and food assistance programs are set to end soon due to recent federal action, raising concerns from advocates about the impact the loss of additional support will have on Virginians. 

The recent passing of the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 and the approaching May 11 end date for the federal COVID-19 public health emergency means the expiration of temporary benefits associated with several Virginia assistance programs, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services and the Virginia Department of Medical Assistance Services. 

Read the full story

Georgia Senate Says Kids Don’t Need Permits or to Pay Taxes on Lemonade Stands

As a parent, T.L. Matthew knows setting up a lemonade stand can be fun and educational.

“In my personal experience, setting up a lemonade stand with my daughter was a fun and rewarding bonding experience that taught her valuable skills in communication, entrepreneurship, and money management,” Matthew, the CEO and founder of Fayetteville-based SumFoods, told The Center Square via email. “Unfortunately, in many states, kids who try to set up their own businesses have been bogged down by unnecessary regulations and taxes, forcing them to obtain permits and licenses or risk being shut down or fined.”

Read the full story

Wisconsin Senator Baldwin Introduces Codification of Roe v. Wade

U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) and Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) this week introduced legislation to codify the legality of abortion everywhere on American soil. 

Twelve states currently have laws that prohibit abortion during much or all of a woman’s pregnancy and many other states have restrictions that the Baldwin-Blumenthal legislation could threaten. The senators, who count 47 Democratic senators as cosponsors of their bill, want to act federally to reverse these statutes which were allowed to go into effect when the Supreme Court overturned the 1973 pro-abortion Roe v. Wade ruling last year. 

Read the full story

GOP Presidential Candidate Nikki Haley Floats a Social Security Reform Trial Balloon in Iowa

In her latest swing through Iowa, Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley took aim at the nation’s financially troubled safety nets for seniors, telling Council Bluff Republicans it’s time to change the retirement age and check Social Security and Medicare benefits for wealthier Americans.

If the former South Carolina governor was sending out a trial balloon to see how reform ideas would fly in the first-in-the-nation caucus state, it seems said balloon may have hit the third rail.

Read the full story

Florida House Committee Approves Two Election-Related Bills

The Florida House Ethics, Elections and Open Government Subcommittee approved two election-related bills and another bill that would allow the recall of county officials by voters at their meeting on Wednesday.

House Joint Resolution 31 was presented by state Rep. Spencer Roach, R-North Fort Myers, who said the resolution would allow voters to change the Florida Constitution to require members of a district school board to be subject to a partisan election.

Read the full story

Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne Announces ‘Empowerment Hotline’ to Report CRT in Schools

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne announced Thursday that he is launching the “Empowerment Hotline” (EH) so constituents can call in reports of students receiving alleged inappropriate teachings in the classrooms.

“I promised to establish this hotline so that anyone could report the teaching of inappropriate lessons that rob students of precious minutes of instruction time in core academic subjects such as reading, math, science, history and the arts. That promise is being kept,” Horne said.

Read the full story

Emergency Personnel and Community Health Major Topics of Second Ohio Senate Rail Safety Hearing

On Wednesday, health was a major topic of conversation during the second Ohio Senate Select Committee Hearing on Rail Safety, especially the health of the East Palestine community and the emergency personnel that responded to the wreck there.

The East Palestine incident in early February served as the catalyst for the hearing, which featured testimony and questions from the departments of transportation, health, and mental health and addiction services in Ohio.

Read the full story

Householder, Borges Guilty in Ohio’s Largest Public Corruption Trial

A federal jury found former Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder and former state Republican Party leader Matt Borges guilty of racketeering conspiracy in what federal prosecutors have called the largest public corruption case in state history.

The two each face up to 20 years in prison and will be sentenced in the coming months. Appeals could also be filed.

Read the full story

Judge Rules State Legislative Leaders Can Intervene in Lawsuit to Protect Arizona Abortion Ban

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes released an order Wednesday stating that Arizona Senate President Warren Petersen (R-Mesa) and House Speaker Ben Toma (R-Peoria) may intervene in a court case involving an abortion ban law enacted in 2021.

“When it became clear that Attorney General [Kris] Mayes [D] would not defend Arizona’s law prohibiting discriminatory abortions, the Legislature had to step in. I applaud the federal court’s order recognizing our legislative authority and granting our motion to intervene to defend the constitutionality of this law,” Toma said in a statement emailed to The Sun Times.

Read the full story

As Arizona Looks to Defund Border Security, Cartels Move Smuggling Efforts West

Since Gov. Katie Hobbs was sworn into office in January, the number of foreign nationals illegally entering Arizona has increased primarily in the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Tucson Sector. And as several factors, including Texas expanding border security efforts, are resulting in illegal border crossings increasing further west, law enforcement officials say Arizona can expect greater numbers.

Arizona’s 378 miles of shared border with Mexico is patrolled by agents in two CBP sectors of Tucson and Yuma. Last month, agents in both sectors combined apprehended 36,296 foreign nationals, up from 33,193 in January.

Read the full story

Commentary: The Right’s Long Countermarch Through the Institutions

Is the Right commencing a long countermarch through the institutions, including the very one – the academy – from which the Left’s own long march began? 

Judging by the distress shown by some in the educational establishment, and like-minded corporate media, regarding higher-education reform efforts in North Carolina and Florida, one might get the impression that the countermarch is not only underway but rapidly advancing – threatening progressives’ stranglehold over schools and virtually every other American power center. 

Read the full story