The U.S. Federal Reserve Board announced another increase to the federal funds rate Wednesday, raising the target range to 5.25 to 5.5%, the highest rate in 22 years.
The Fed Board also left the door open to another hike.
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The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.4% in the second quarter of 2023, according to gross domestic product (GDP) statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday morning.
Real GDP increased by 2.0% in the first quarter of 2022 after being revised up from an initial estimate of 1.1%, according to the BEA. Economists expected the GDP would be around 2% in the second quarter of 2023, following high inflation and an interest rate increase from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday.
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Fox News Republicans and gun rights activists say the Biden administration unlawfully handed out federal funds to states that did not qualify under a program intended to promote so-called “red flag” laws. In 2022, Congress passed, and President Biden signed, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in response to mass shootings in Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas, that left dozens dead. The law incentivizes states to pass extreme risk protection laws, also called “red flag” laws, that allow members of the public and law enforcement to petition courts for a civil order to temporarily suspend a person’s access to firearms for fear that person might do violence. After gun rights advocates raised Second Amendment concerns, Congress included requirements that states applying for federal grants to implement red flag laws include certain due process protections. But Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., and Rep. Alex Mooney, R-W.Va., say in a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland that the Justice Department has handed federal funds to states that did not meet the minimum due process criteria. The letter accuses the Biden administration of ignoring Congress and demands to know why grants to at least eight states and territories with no red flag laws on the books nevertheless received…
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TN Journal The U.S. Department of Justice announced it is launching an investigation into the Memphis Police Department’s use of force in traffic stops. The probe follows the death of motorist Tyre Nichols that led to the firing of seven police officers. READ THE FULL STORY
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In the 11th episode of his newest production, “Tucker on Twitter,” former Fox News primetime host Tucker Carlson sat down with actor O’Shea Jackson, commonly known as Ice Cube, at his studio.
During the 22-minute interview released Wednesday evening, Carlson questioned the actor on various topics, with the first question being why exactly he chose to sit down for an interview with Carlson in the first place.
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Nashville Christian shooter Audrey Hale had handwritten words, numbers and drawings covering the clothing she wore as she killed six people at her former school in March, an autopsy report states.
Hale, a 28-year-old biological woman who identified as a transgender man, also had a red pocket knife monogrammed with her chosen name of Aiden, according to the Davidson County Medical Examiner’s report, published Wednesday by Fox News.
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Journalists-turned-authors Erik Schelzig and Joel Ebert join host Michael Patrick Leahy and all-star panelist Clint Brewer in-studio on Thursday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to discuss Schelzig and Ebert’s new book, Welcome to Capitol Hill: 50 years of Scandal. TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: Good morning, Nashville; it’s 6:06 a.m. We’re broadcasting live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee. Boy, do we have an hour for you this morning. Our all-star panelist and all-around good guy, recovering journalist, Clint Brewer is here. Clint, good morning. Clint Brewer: Good morning, Mike. Michael Patrick Leahy: We’re glad to have you here. And a special day for us, two journalists long standing here have written a book about all the hijinks up at Capitol Hill here in Tennessee since 1972. It’s going to be published by Vanderbilt University Press on August 15th. Joel Ebert, welcome to The Tennessee Star Report. Joel Ebert: Thanks for having me. Michael Patrick Leahy: We’re glad to have you and Erik Schelzig. Welcome. Erik Schelzig: Good morning. Thanks for having us. Michael Patrick Leahy: We’ll move you a little bit closer to the microphone there, Erik. So let’s start with Erik, your background – you…
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McNeilus Truck and Manufacturing, Inc., an Oshkosh Corporation [NYSE: OSK] company that manufactures purpose-built commercial vehicles and equipment announced Wednesday that it will invest $25.2 million to expand its manufacturing presence in Middle Tennessee.
According to the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development (TNECD), the company plans to expand operations at its current Parkway Place facility in Murfreesboro to fabric and weld custom vehicle components.
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The Tennessee Education Association (TEA), along with several teachers, filed a lawsuit against the Tennessee Commissioner of Education and members of the State Board of Education over a law that prohibits the teaching of Critical Race Theory (CRT) in K-12 classrooms, according to a Wednesday press release.
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On Tuesday, the FBI handed over requested documents on its efforts to target Catholic Americans after another threat from Congress to hold Director Christopher Wray in contempt.
As reported by the New York Post, Congressman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, had subpoenaed the files in question and threatened to hold Wray in contempt of Congress if the documents were not delivered by the deadline of July 25th.
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Metro Nashville Public Schools (MNPS) School Board members on Tuesday considered several district policy revisions mandated by changes in state law. Three amended policies required parental permission for student participation in school clubs, school surveys, and certain health screenings.
State law passed this last session, includes new options for parents/guardians regarding certain extracurricular activities and district actions. Specifically, this new law: (1) requires parents/guardians to opt in before their minor child joins a school club or participates in the activities of a club; (2) requires parents/guardians to opt in, rather than opt-out before a student under 18 participates in a non-instructional survey, analysis, or evaluation; and (3) gives parents/guardians the ability to opt-out of health screenings conducted as part of the coordinated school health program.
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Colleges throughout the country are plotting new ways to weigh race in the admissions process after a Supreme Court ruling that blocked the use of affirmative action policies, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Supreme Court ruled in June that Harvard University and the University of North Carolina’s use of affirmative action admissions policies was unconstitutional, halting the practice across higher education institutions. Colleges and universities are considering the use of essays and different potential student recruiting methods following the Supreme Court ruling, according to the WSJ.
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Republican county election clerks across the country are facing lawsuits and other consequences for their actions during the 2020 presidential elections – including what some clerks contend was their attempt only to preserve election data to prevent or expose fraud.
Stan Grot, a clerk in Michigans’s Shelby Township Clerk was notified Thursday by the state Bureau of Elections that he won’t be allowed to administer elections while facing charges by the state attorney general.
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Federalist Society Co-Chairman Leonard Leo, who served as an advisor in the selection process of former President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court appointees, has been targeted in his home town in Maine by what a prominent Catholic leader calls “anti-Catholic bigots” in the wake of recent rulings by the High Court.
Activists have been protesting at Leo’s home in Northeast Harbor, tying him to Supreme Court rulings with which they disagree.
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America First Legal Foundation sued the Biden administration Wednesday for allegedly concealing information regarding an FBI investigation into Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, according to a copy of the complaint first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The lawsuit against both the FBI and the Department of Justice (DOJ) asks that the agencies release the documents related to the Mayorkas probe, according to the complaint. The conservative group was previously denied a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for the records regarding the FBI’s investigation into Mayorkas’ background.
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Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett reminded victims in the counties impacted by tornadoes and severe storms that began at the end of March that the deadline to file their federal income tax returns and tax payments is Monday, July 31.
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Three suspects in a brazen, broad daylight shooting murder remain unidentified days after a video of the shooting went viral online.
The video, shared widely online and viewed at least one million times, shows three men approaching a target with firearms drawn, firing bursts of rounds, and then running away.
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An abortion doctor allegedly ran over a pro-life protester with his car in Saginaw Township, Michigan, and now has a felony warrant out for his arrest, according to Michigan Live News.
The doctor, an 87-year-old abortion provider, allegedly ran over Mark Zimmerman, who was protesting the abortion clinic, and broke Zimmerman’s leg, which resulted in Zimmerman needing to be hospitalized, according to MLive News. The doctor also reportedly assaulted another pro-life protestor in 2012, Lynn Mills, director of Pro-Life Michigan, an incident for which he was charged with assault and received probation.
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A 68-year-old woman who was fired from her job at Lowe’s for attempting to stop an active robbery has been reinstated, according to a statement by a Lowe’s spokesperson.
Last month, according to RDP, three subjects went inside the Lowe’s store in Rincon, loaded multiple items into shopping carts, and exited the store without paying for the merchandise.
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Connecticut utility regulators have rejected a proposed rate increase by one of the state’s largest utilities, which was seeking another $130 million from energy consumers.
The state Public Utilities Regulatory Authority turned down a request from United Illuminating to increase electric rates by nearly $131 million over the next three years. Instead, the agency approved a rate increase of just over $2 million for next year, which is still subject to final approval by the PURA board.
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GOP lawmakers and other conservative critics are working to expose and fight a secretive executive order by President Biden to expand voter participation in elections, which they suspect has become a powerful government-wide complement to private left-wing election financing that could tip the 2024 campaign illegally and unfairly in Democrats’ favor.
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The Ohio Secretary of State’s Office certified on Tuesday the petitions submitted by a coalition of pro-abortion activists who want Ohioans to vote in November on a proposed amendment that would enshrine abortion into the state Constitution.
The Ohioans for Reproductive Freedom, a coalition of radical pro-abortion activists that includes Planned Parenthood, Pro-Choice Ohio, the Abortion Fund of Ohio, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, along with the Ohio Physicians for Reproductive Rights, proposed “The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety” which would add a Section 22 to Article 1 of the state Constitution.
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Former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani concedes that he made “false” and “defamatory” statements about two Georgia election workers who filed a lawsuit against him in an effort to resolve the case and to satisfy a judge who has considered issuing sanctions against the former New York City mayor.
The court document filed late Tuesday evening states that Giuliani “does not contest” four allegations made in a defamation case brought by Georgia election workers Ruby Freeman and her daughter Wandrea “Shaye” Moss against the former Trump attorney and the conservative outlet One America News Network.
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Former President Donald Trump holds a 27-point lead over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the latest National Research Inc. survey of likely GOP voters in Iowa. This poll of 500 likely Iowa Republican Caucus participants represents Trump’s largest lead over DeSantis since the Republican polling firm began its surveys in May.
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Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine joined Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine in reintroducing legislation that would increase funding opportunities for teacher and school administrator recruitment and training, as well as minority-serving colleges and universities.
The Preparing and Retaining Education Professionals Act, or PREP Act, was initially introduced in the Senate a couple of years ago as the PREP Act of 2021. Though touted as bipartisan, Collins is the only Republican cosponsor alongside seven Democrats.
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While the Pennsylvania budget stalemate remains, senators argued over the importance of school choice and increasing public school funding at a committee hearing in Reading.
The Senate Education Committee met Tuesday to discuss “student opportunities for success,” hearing from parents of children in public and private schools in Reading, as well as public school leaders of Reading School District.
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Republican presidential hopeful Tim Scott returns to Iowa this week riding high in a new Hawkeye State poll and looking to capitalize on two key campaign events.
The South Carolina U.S. senator will host a town hall with Governor Kim Reynolds Thursday evening in Ankeny before speaking at the Iowa GOP’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner fundraiser on Friday.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is laying off more than one-third of his campaign staff as he falls in 2024 presidential primary polls.
The cuts are across multiple departments and will amount to 38 positions, including the roughly 10 event planning staffers whose positions were axed earlier this month, according to Politico.
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A Nebraska teenager was recently sentenced to 90 days in jail after she burned and buried the remains of her aborted baby, a case U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar called a “frightening violation of privacy and autonomy.”
Omar published a screenshot of a New York Times article about the case of 19-year-old Celeste Burgess, who was not charged “under Nebraska’s abortion law,” the article notes. At the time, Nebraska prohibited abortions after 20 weeks; that has now been moved up to 12 weeks.
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The Democratic Party machine has crushed Republicans in the contest to harvest early votes in battleground Wisconsin — inside and outside the law.
The GOP is looking to turn the tables with a new national initiative launching in the Badger State.
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Maricopa County failed to maintain chain-of-custody records for hundreds of thousands of early ballots dropped off at third-party contractor Runbeck Election Services, and a new report is out analyzing the extent of the illegal behavior, which is a class 2 misdemeanor. Election integrity organization Verity Vote issued its analysis last week.
The report observed that then-Secretary of State Katie Hobbs admonished Cochise County prior to the 2022 election about deviating from the state’s Election Procedures Manual. Yet “just one month later, Hobbs chose to disregard Maricopa County’s admitted deviations from the EPM and violations of law as she oversaw and certified her own election.” Verity Vote asserted that documents “long withheld” were finally produced revealing the lack of chain of custody, and “Maricopa officials misled the court about the process and the records.”
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A man died on June 23 after climbing the secondary International Boundary Fence near San Luis, Arizona.
On the evening of June 22, remote video surveillance system operators observed four individuals climbing the fence. U.S. Border Patrol agents were then dispatched to the area, according to a July 24 news release.
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Maricopa County Republican Committee (MCRC) Chairman Craig Berland encouraged MCRC Precinct Committeemen and Arizonans to support the blockbuster film “Sound of Freedom.”
The Christian streaming service known for producing the “The Chosen” and “Tuttle Twins” series, Angel Studios, produced the film Sound of Freedom. Angel Studios released the film in theaters on July 4th. The movie tells the true story of a former government agent Tim Ballard, who established the nonprofit Operation Underground Railroad, and his suspenseful mission to rescue sex-trafficked children in Colombia.
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On Tuesday, the Ohio Secretary of State’s office ruled that the petitions submitted by a coalition to legalize the purchase and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older did not collect enough valid signatures to be put on the November ballot.
The Coalition to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol has proposed an initiative to impose a 10 percent tax on the sale of all cannabis products, permit adults to grow up to six plants per person or 12 per household, and legalize the possession, purchase, and sale of marijuana by Ohio residents aged 21 and older.
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Governor Katie Hobbs launched new criticisms against the Empowerment Savings Accounts (ESA) program, the school choice initiative allowing all Arizona families to direct education spending to charter or private schools, calling ESAs “unsustainable” and “unaccountable” after reporting the program is estimated to cause a shortfall in the Arizona General Fund.
Total costs for the program are estimated to be $943 million, according to the governor. This will leave the General Fund with a potential shortfall of $319.8 million. Revenues for the General Fund are estimated to be $17.9 billion.
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After school officials reportedly read a statement to students about a teacher’s upcoming sex change, the Eau Claire Area School District faces a lawsuit demanding it to turn over the document.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), a Milwaukee-based civl rights law firm representing parent Leah Buchman, claims the district has been sitting on the document for weeks, citing an ongoing investigation.
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President Joe Biden has chosen the Air Force’s possible next top officer after tapping the current Air Force Chief of Staff to serve in the Joint Chiefs chairman’s role, the Congressional record shows.
The White House notified Congress of its intent to nominate Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin on Tuesday, the record shows, although Biden has yet to formally announce the nomination. If confirmed, Allvin would replace Gen. Charles Brown as the service’s highest-ranking military officer, but he faces hurdles amid the backlog of senior officers awaiting Senate confirmation due to a hold over a Department of Defense (DOD) abortion policy.
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As Ambassador Rahm Emanuel once said as chief of staff to President Barack Obama, “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste.” Hillary Clinton is taking this to heart, using summer temperatures to justify Democrats’ profligate spending on green energy in the Inflation Reduction Act.
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