Memo: Biden Family, Associates Received over $24 Million Through Foreign Business Dealings

Another claim from House Republicans suggests that the Biden family and business associates made as much as $24 million from foreign business transactions, even higher than previous estimates.

According to the Daily Caller, the memo from the chairman of three congressional committees cites records from various shell companies which point to payments from several foreign countries, including China, Russia, Ukraine, Romania, and Kazakhstan.

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Arizona’s Top Democrats Were in Washington, D.C. for ‘Meetings,’ Leaving Republican in Charge Ahead of Biden Visit

Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee (R) acted as the acting governor of the state for an unclear period of time between Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, as three of Arizona’s top Democrats happened to be in Washington, D.C. for meetings. Yee’s tenure was ended when Governor Katie Hobbs (D) returned to appear alongside President Joe Biden at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport to honor the legacy of John McCain.

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UAW Announces New Strike at GM and Ford Plants

The United Auto Workers (UAW) announced that they would be expanding their targeted strike to more manufacturing plants at noon on Friday following a failure to reach a new contract with automakers.

UAW announced that 7,000 more workers at two plants will join the strike at just Ford and General Motors, sparing Stellantis, as negotiations over new contracts continue to fail to reach a resolution, according to a UAW livestream Friday. The union last announced an expansion on Sept. 22 from just three plants to 41 across the U.S., with the new plants being split between Stellantis and GM, sparing Ford of more strikes after saying that the company had been more willing to cooperate in negotiations.

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EXCLUSIVE: GOP Presidential Candidate Doug Burgum Blasts Fox Business Debate Moderators: Why Did They Threaten to Shut off My Microphone When All I’m Trying to Do ‘Is Answer the Questions That the Other Candidates Weren’t?’

Presidential candidate and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Friday to share his thoughts about Wednesday’s debate and to lay out his vision for the country, without the worry that his microphone was going to be cut off.  TRANSCRIPT Michael Patrick Leahy: 7:33 a.m.; broadcasting live from our studios on Music Row in Nashville, Tennessee, in-studio, the original all-star panelist, Crom Carmichael. On the newsmaker line right now, my friend, Governor Doug Burgum of North Dakota, one of the seven candidates who was on the stage Wednesday night at the GOP debate. Governor Burgum, welcome to The Tennessee Star Report. Doug Burgum: Mike, great to be with you. Thanks for having me on. Michael Patrick Leahy: Doug, you and I have known each other for over 40 years. You were a year ahead of me at Stanford Business School. I remember you sort of in the halls talking with the guys that started with Sun Microsystem, and then you went on to be very successful. Went back to your hometown, Fargo, North Dakota, literally bet the farm, started Great Plains Software – very successful. You ended up selling it to…

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Governor Bill Lee Participates in Groundbreaking of Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy in Nashville

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee (R) participated in Wednesday’s official groundbreaking for the Multi-Agency Law Enforcement Training Academy (MALETA) in Nashville’s Cockrill Bend.

The $415 million site campus will have housing and dining facilities for cadets and in-service employees, local and state law enforcement training facilities, and a new administrative headquarters building for the Tennessee Department of Safety & Homeland Security and the Tennessee Department of Correction.

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Tennessee AG Pushes Back on the Biden Administration’s Proposed Rule on Water Heaters

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed another public comment opposing the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) latest rule to set new efficiency standards for consumer water heaters.

The DOE’s rule, proposed in July, would “prescribe energy conservation standards for various consumer products and certain commercial and industrial equipment, including consumer water heaters,” according to the department.

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Impeachment Memo: Biden Family Collected $15 Million in Foreign Money, DOJ ‘Obstructed’ Probe

The three House chairmen leading the impeachment inquiry against Joe Biden told fellow lawmakers Wednesday night that the president’s family collected at least $15 million in foreign funds and that there is evidence the Justice Department “obstructed” federal agents from pursuing evidence leading to the White House.

“Department of Justice personnel blocked avenues of inquiry that could have led to evidence incriminating President Biden and impeded efforts to prosecute Hunter Biden for tax crimes relating to foreign business arrangements that could have implicated President Biden,” Reps. James Comer, Jim Jordan and Jason Smith wrote in a 30-page memo to colleagues on the eve of the first impeachment inquiry hearing in Congress.

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August Border Encounters of More than 322,000 Highest Monthly Total in U.S. History

Total encounters reported at both the northern and southwest land borders in August was 304,162, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. It is the greatest total number of illegal entries of any month in recorded U.S. history, according to CBP data.

Total encounter data excludes nearly 30,000 gotaways at the southwest border reported by Border Patrol agents last month. It excludes gotaways reported by Office of Field Operations agents at the southwest border and all gotaway data from the northern border.

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Shelby County District Attorney Suspended from Practicing Law Stemming from DUI Conviction

A district attorney from Shelby County has been suspended from practicing law after being arrested for allegedly driving under the influence. 

“On September 27, 2023, the Supreme Court of Tennessee temporarily suspended Monica Aislynn Timmerman from the practice of law upon finding that Ms. Timmerman is substantially non-compliant with a Tennessee Lawyer Assistance Program and poses a threat of substantial harm to the public,” says a document issued by the Board of Professional Responsibility of the Supreme Court of Tennessee.

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Retailers Lost Billions of Dollars to Shoplifters in 2022, Survey Shows

Retailers lost more than $112 billion to crime in 2022, a roughly 19% increase in losses from 2021, a survey from the National Retail Federation (NRF) and the Loss Prevention Research Council found.

At least 28% of businesses who responded to the survey reported that they had closed locations because of organized retail theft, while 30% reduced or altered their in-store product selections. Out of the 177 retail brands surveyed, 88% said that shoplifters had become somewhat more or much more violent in 2022 compared to the previous year.

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Metro Nashville School Board Proposes Lottery Admission at Two Top Performing Schools to Increase Diversity

The Metro Nashville Public School (MNPS) Board this week considered changing eligibility rules for admission to its two highly successful academic magnet schools – Martin Luther King Jr. Magnet High School and Hume-Fogg Academic High School. If adopted, all prospective students would be subject to a lottery system for admission.

The proposed rule change would not go into effect until the 2024 – 2025 school year, but if adopted, would sever established pathways for entry into MLK and Home-Fogg. Currently, Meigs Middle School and John Early Middle School serve as pathway schools to Hume-Fogg, while Head Middle School and Rose Park Middle School serve as pathways to MLK.

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Berkeley Constitutional Law Professor John Yoo Discusses Accusations of Election Fraud in Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman

The disbarment trial of Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, is in its sixth week. Wednesday featured more testimony by Berkeley constitutional law professor John Yoo, who was grilled by State Bar of California attorney Duncan Carling about his opinion that there was no fraud in the 2020 election—the day concluded with some direct examination of Joseph Fried, an auditor who authored the book Debunked? investigating the allegations of election fraud.

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Michigan Coalition: Offer EV Incentives to Reach 2 Million by 2030

A group called on the Democrat-dominated Michigan Legislature to boost electric vehicle incentives so the state can reach 2 million registered statewide by 2030.

Illinois leads the Midwest race to register EVs with nearly 80,000 EVs, while Minnesota has 41,417 and Michigan has 34,380. For Michigan to reach its EV goal, it must register 280,803 EVs each year until mid-2030, which would require registering 23,400 EVs every month for seven years.

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Arizona U.S. Rep. Eli Crane Remains Committed to Budget Showdown: ‘American People Expect This Group to Fight’

Arizona Representative Eli Crane (R-AZ-02) confirmed his commitment to vote against any short-term spending bill, insisting he will only vote for the 12 appropriations bills Congress is legally obligated to create to fund the government, during a Thursday appearance on “The John Fredericks Show.”

Crane indicated he is proud to be called a “legislative terrorist” for his refusal to join moderate Republicans in their push for a quick spending bill to avoid a government shutdown, suggesting the $33 trillion debt and $2 trillion annual deficit mean “this thing doesn’t end well.” He also accused members of Republican Leadership and “many” House Republicans of having “no desire” to reign in spending.

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Georgia Senate GOP Caucus Votes to Remove State Senator Who Wants to Defund, Impeach Fani Willis

The Georgia Senate Republican Caucus voted on Thursday to oust State Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) after he circulated a legislative petition calling for a special session to impeach or defund Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and sent activists to door-knock in districts of senators who publicly opposed the petition.

Moore announced a petition for a special session to defund or impeach Willis following her indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 current or former allies who helped him contest the 2020 election, sparking support from the grassroots and caution from Republican leadership. Since then, activists working with Moore have door knocked in Republican districts to lobby voters against Republican senators who refused to back the petition.

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Minnesota County Commissioner Candidate Downplays Concerns That Relationship with Moriarty May Pose Conflict of Interest

Jen Westmoreland, the partner of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty and newly announced candidate for county commissioner, pledged on Wednesday she would recuse herself from voting on any county board actions that would “personally benefit Mary.”

“My personal relationship does not diminish my dedication to the responsibilities of being your next commissioner,” Westmoreland said. “There are well-established protocols for mitigating conflicts of interest in Hennepin County, and we have already been taking these precautions.”

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Ohio Governor Mike DeWine Announces New Grant Program to Support Human Trafficking Survivors

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced Wednesday details of a new program to help victim service agencies supply the needs of survivors of human trafficking.

DeWine and the Ohio General Assembly established the new Direct Services for Victims of Human Trafficking Grant Program as a component of the state’s new operating budget. As part of this program, nonprofit groups now have access to $4 million in financing to effectively support the rising number of sex and labor trafficking victims needing assistance.

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Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Confirms Ex-Guard Accused of Strangling Detainee Is ‘Biologically a Female,’ Mug Shot Shows Person with Beard and Receding Hairline

A former guard at the Fulton County Jail, who was charged on Thursday after allegedly strangling a detainee to the point of losing consciousness, appears to be a biologically female person who identifies as a transgender male.

An indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on Thursday, charging former Fulton County Jail detention officer Monique Clark with using excessive force when allegedly strangling a female detainee until she fell unconscious and was injured. Conflicting reporting about Clark’s gender appears to indicate Clark was born biologically female, but now identifies as male.

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Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon Appoints Dennis Futch to Chair New Initiative, Serve as Vice Chair of the Finance Committee

Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Josh McKoon recently announced his appointment of Dennis Futch to serve as vice chairman of the GAGOP Finance Committee and chairman of a new initiative launched by the party.

“As we remain laser focused on firing Joe Biden next year, we know that improved margins and increased turnout in rural Georgia is a key component to victory,” McKoon said in a statement. “Dennis Futch is the right man to help us build out the strategy to win big in rural Georgia next year. The Rural Mobilization Initiative is all about development and execution of a strategy to both improve our margins and increase voter turnout. I’m very excited to work with Dennis on this effort!”

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Jenny Tolman Releases New Music

In March of 2022, I featured Jenny Tolman in my column as she was releasing her sophomore album and was on the cusp of getting married to GRAMMY-nominated producer Dave Brainard in Jackson, Wyoming, in a beautiful snow-covered ceremony. We did not expect that nine months later, Tolman would give birth to a bouncing baby boy, “Bear” Brainard.

Her songs, “Married in a Honky Tonk” and “I Know Some Cowboys” will always be two of my favorites.

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Senate Unanimously Approves Suit-and-Tie Dress Code

The Senate unanimously approved a suit-and-tie dress code in a resolution that came a week and a half after Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer announced that the decades-old unofficial policy would be relaxed.

Utah Republican Sen. Mitt Romney and West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin proposed the resolution with the new enforceable standards, which the Senate agreed to Wednesday by unanimous consent.

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CCP-Linked TikTok’s Personnel Can Allegedly Access Politicians’ Private Networks: Report

TikTok and its Beijing-based parent company ByteDance’s personnel can allegedly view the private connections of a vast array of politicians, Forbes reported on Wednesday.

TikTok has a social graph tool that reveals connections of individuals including members of President Joe Biden’s family, governors, senators and state attorneys general, Forbes reported. Other social media companies have access to similar data but TikTok has fewer barriers for employees to view it and more personal information available for them to draw from, according to individuals who have worked for multiple tech firms who spoke to Forbes.

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Commentary: The Answer to American Electric Grid Reliability Is Fuel Cells

In 1932, Americans were doggedly trudging through year three of the Great Depression when a candidate for president spoke of “the human importance of electric power in our present social order … It lights our homes, our places of work and our streets. It turns the wheels of most of our transportation and our factories. In our homes it serves not only for light, but it can become the willing servant of the family in countless ways … Electricity is no longer a luxury,” he declared. “It is a definite necessity.”

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CIA Creates Its Own Version of ChatGPT to Rival Chinese AI

Amid the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has developed its own AI tool in the same vein as ChatGPT, in an effort to combat the Chinese military’s AI advances.

As Just The News reports, the CIA plans to launch its own artificial intelligence platform in order to provide its employees with easier methods of accessing intelligence and information. Specifically, the new technology hopes to allow users to acquire the original source more quickly than before for faster analysis.

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