Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, failed in the second round of voting in the House speaker election on the House floor Wednesday.
Read the full storyJordan Fails to Win House Speakership in Second Round of Voting
Day: October 18, 2023
Pro-Ceasefire Demonstrators Overrun Capitol Hill Demanding End to Israel-Hamas Conflict
Supporters of a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas occupied Capitol Hill on Wednesday demanding an end to the ongoing conflict and urging the government against escalating the hostilities.
Read the full storyAnnual Eagle Forum Foundation Event on Saturday Features All-Star Lineup
Tennessee Eagle Forum president Bobbie Patray joined the The Tennessee Star Report newsmaker line Wednesday morning to share with listeners the latest lineup for the much-anticipated 2023 On Eagles Wings event set to begin Saturday morning.
Among the all-star speakers set to appear are former Trump administration officials, ambassadors, Tennessee policy experts, and much more.
Read the full storyTennessee Senator Marsha Blackburn Leads Colleagues in Introducing Bill to Freeze U.S. Aid to Palestinians
Tennessee U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) filed legislation Tuesday to halt all funding for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Read the full storyCity Sued for $500,000 ‘Reproductive Justice Fund’ That Allegedly ‘Aids and Abets’ Illegal Abortions
Pro-life advocates sued the city of San Antonio Tuesday over its “Reproductive Justice Fund,” which they allege violates Texas law by using taxpayer dollars to aid women getting abortions out of state, according to court documents obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The city council approved a $500,000 fund in September as a part of its 2024 budget to assist reproductive health organizations and one member of the city council expressed hopes that it would help women get abortions “where they are legal,” according to KENS 5, a CBS News affiliate. The lawsuit filed by Texas Right to Life (TRL), as well as the Texas Leadership Coalition and Texans for Fiscal Responsibility, argues that pro-abortion groups will use the fund to pay for a woman to go outside the state to get an abortion in violation of Texas law, according to court documents.
Read the full storyNashville Attorney Accuses Metro Nashville Legal Director Wally Dietz and His Office of ‘Relentless Malfeasance’
A nationally recognized Nashville constitutional law attorney is urging newly installed Mayor Freddie O’Connell to fire Metro Nashville’s controversial legal Director Wally Dietz on allegations of “relentless malfeasance in the Department of Law.”
Based on Daniel Horowitz’s email to Metro Council members, it appears at least some city leaders may agree with the attorney.
Read the full storyPoll Shows Blackburn with Big Lead over Democrat Challengers
A new poll released Tuesday by Emerson College Polling shows Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) with a commanding lead in her 2024 run for re-election.
The poll was conducted among 410 Tennessee voters between October 1 and October 4, and found that Blackburn boasts support from 50 percent of respondents.
Read the full storyTennessee Tax Collections Nearly $47 Million Less than Budgeted Through Two Months
Tennessee was $7.4 million shy of reaching its budgeted estimate for tax and fee collections in September, putting the state $46.9 million below its budget for the first two months of the fiscal year.
The $2.2 billion in overall September collections were $29.4 million more than September 2022 collections.
Read the full storySCOTUS Backs Biden Admin ‘Ghost Guns’ Rule for Second Time
The Supreme Court on Monday blocked a federal judge’s order suspending the Biden administration’s “ghost guns” rule, which regulates gun parts kits as traditional firearms.
After blocking U.S. District for the Northern District of Texas Judge Reed O’Connor’s decision to vacate the rule nationwide in August, the Supreme Court vacated O’Connor’s more recent Sept. 14 injunction suspending enforcement of the regulation against two manufacturing companies, Blackhawk Manufacturing and Defense Distributed. The justice’s decision leaves in place the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) “Frame or Receiver” rule, which expands the definition of firearm to encompass parts kits that are “readily convertible to functional weapons” or “functional ‘frames’ or ‘receivers’ of weapons.
Read the full storyElection Integrity Issues for November Elections Begin with Absentee Ballots
As state and local elections are set to conclude on Election Day next month, election integrity issues have already begun with absentee ballots.
Counties across the country have already run into problems with absentee ballots for local November elections, as Republicans such as former President Donald Trump and U.S. Senate candidate for Arizona, Kari Lake, have repeatedly criticized issues with absentee ballots.
Read the full storyTennessee AG Skrmetti Pushes Back Against Department of Energy Proposal Targeting Consumer Boilers
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 20 other attorneys general in drafting a comment letter in opposition to a new U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) proposal regarding consumer boilers.
Read the full storyAmid Legal Battle over Manifesto, Students Will Return to Covenant School
As the legal battle over the release of Audrey Elizabeth Hale’s manifesto rages on, The Covenant School, where Hale took six lives in March, is preparing to reopen.
According to WKRN, students will return in January, less than one year after the deadly shooting.
Read the full storyCommentary: Zero Palestinian Refugees in America
For three years now, America’s sovereignty and safety have already been vaporized enough by Biden.
But the leftists, predictably, want even more. Now, they pine for a mass importation of Palestinian refugees into America. Fire alarm-pulling Congressman Jamaal Bowman of New York declared that “the United States should be prepared to welcome refugees from Palestine.”
Read the full storyCourt Docs Reveal ‘Extreme’ Public Pressure on Prosecutors in George Floyd Case
New court documents expose the “extreme pressure” prosecutors faced in Hennepin County to charge Derek Chauvin and three other former Minneapolis police officers in the death of George Floyd.
Several attorneys opposed charging the “other three” officers and withdrew from the case due to “professional and ethical rules.”
Read the full storyWisconsin GOP Senate Boss Disappointed in Child Care Funding Announcement
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers’ announcement he will give $170 million to child care providers in the state is not going over well with the Republican leader of the Wisconsin Senate.
Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu accused the governor of misleading families across the state.
Read the full storyTurning Point Action Executive Received Extra Maricopa County Ballots for Former Residents
Tyler Bowyer, an executive for conservative activist group Turning Point Action, revealed on Monday that he received two Maricopa County ballots for former residents of his home. He told The Arizona Sun Times the episode represented “horrible public policy” and “administration of our elections.”
Bowyer posted an image of four ballots to X, formerly Twitter, on Monday night, revealing that only two registered voters live at his address. Voters in Maricopa County, and much of Arizona, are required to use mail-in ballots for the November 7, 2023 elections.
Read the full storyBill Plan Recommends Increasing Sentencing for Michigan Fentanyl Crimes
Three Michigan lawmakers introduced a bipartisan plan to heighten sentencing recommendations for various narcotic drug crimes.
Reps. Sarah Lightner, R-Springport, Ann Bollin R-Brighton Township, and Angela Witwer, D-Delta Township, introduced a bipartisan plan to increase drug sentencing recommendations for heroin and fentanyl dealers.
Read the full storySenator JD Vance Introduces Bill to Add ‘Birth of a Child’ Under FMLA Protection
Ohio U.S. Senator JD Vance (R-OH) introduced a bill this week focusing on protecting new parents from “being exposed to undue healthcare costs.”
Read the full storyNational Democrats Raise $200K for Final Weeks of Battle for Virginia’s General Assembly
The Washington-based Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC), the Democratic Party’s political operation focused on state legislative races, announced Monday a new six-figure investment in Virginia’s off-cycle state house contests—part of the DLCC’s attempt to nationalize the Old Dominion hustings.
“Republican dysfunction has become a hallmark of national politics,” said DLCC Campaign Communications Director Abhi Rahman. “Their refusal to do the basic requirements of government, including choosing a speaker, shows us that this is all a game to them and they don’t care about the people they were elected to represent.
Read the full storyFlorida Universities Leader Says Protesters May Have Broken the Law with Reported Calls to Wipe Israel ‘Off the Map’
Ray Rodrigues, the chancellor of the State University System of Florida, issued a memo Friday to university presidents warning that pro-Palestinian protesters, who allegedly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map,” may have violated Florida law, according to an email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) at Florida State University (FSU) hosted a protest on Oct. 11 advocating for “Palestinian resistance” just days after Hamas, a U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist organization, attacked Israel, killing over 1,300 and wounding thousands, according to Florida’s Voice. Rodrigues said in his memo that allegations had been made that protesters called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” and warned university presidents, if true, the behavior would “not be tolerated.”
Read the full storyUniversity of Pennsylvania Loses Major Donor and Board Member over Anti-Semitism
The University of Pennsylvania lost the support of one major donor and saw one board of trustees member resign, both out of protest against the rise of anti-Semitism at the university in the wake of the massive Palestinian attacks against Israel.
As reported by Breitbart, Jon Huntsman, a former Governor of Utah, former U.S. ambassador, and former presidential candidate, announced publicly that he would not be donating to the school any further, due to the school’s refusal to issue a statement of any kind on the matter.
Read the full storyGroup Disputes Truck Driver Shortage Claim in Georgia
While Georgia state lawmakers are looking for solutions to what they say is a commercial truck driver shortage, an industry trade group says the concern is with turnover, not shortages.
The head of the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association tells The Center Square that “the biggest problem that occurs in trucking is driver turnover,” saying 400,000 new commercial driver’s licenses are issued annually.
Read the full storyNorth Korean Defector Yeonmi Park Brings Her ‘Warning to America’ to Chandler Event
North Korean defector Yeonmi Park spoke to a Davos in the Desert gathering at The Forum in Chandler Monday evening. The young author contrasted the totalitarian government she fled with increasing wokism in the U.S. Due to her speaking out, she said, “I have become the enemy of the woke.”
David Wanetick, who founded Davos in the Desert, spoke briefly first about the principles of the organization. It is an “anti-globalist movement dedicated to providing forums whereby business leaders, thought leaders and government servants share their ideas for safeguarding freedom and liberty.”
Read the full storyGeorgia Flush with Nearly $11 Billion in Cash Reserves, $5.4 Billion in Rainy Day Fund: State Report
Georgia has accrued nearly $11 billion in cash reserves, invested the maximum legal amount into its rainy day fund, and tucked more than $2 billion into its lottery reserve fund, according to a government report published Monday.
The State Accounting Office published its report for the budget year ending in June 2023 this week, revealing the state has just over $10.7 billion cash on hand. Georgia also boasts almost $5.4 billion in its rainy day fund, which is at its constitutional limit, and $2.1 billion in its lottery reserve fund.
Read the full storyU.S. Venture Capital Firms Participated in Chinese Government ‘Technology Transfer’ Contests
Five U.S.-based venture capital firms have participated in Chinese government-backed entrepreneurial contests that effectively aid Beijing’s “technology transfer” strategy, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation review of Chinese-language contest records.
U.S.-based venture capital (VC) firms GGV Capital, GSR Ventures, IDG Capital, Sequoia Capital and Walden International are variously identified as “participating institutions” and/or “angel investors” in Chinese government-backed “start-up” contests supporting the Thousand Talents Plan, according to the contest’s brochures and promotional videos. Executives from these five VC firms have served as Thousand Talents Plan start-up contest judges, steering committee members and mentors for contestants going back to the first 2012 contest, according to a DCNF review of contest records.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Unveils New Chip Controls Focused on China
President Joe Biden’s administration finalized semiconductor sanctions on Tuesday to prevent China from accessing the advanced technology.
The new export controls close loopholes in current limitations and decrease the export of equipment necessary to make advanced semiconductor chips, according to the rules announced by the Department of Commerce. The restrictions will expand upon the administration’s ambition to block China’s military from using artificial intelligence (AI) in harmful ways, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said, according to Axios.
Read the full storyUkraine Used Long-Range Missiles Secretly Shipped from U.S.: Report
Ukraine reportedly used long-range missiles secretly shipped over from the U.S. to attack a Russian airfield on Tuesday, according to Politico and visual evidence of the strikes.
Reports in September suggested the Biden administration was coming close to sending Ukraine the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), long-range missiles formerly considered a bridge too far in giving Kyiv the capability to strike Russian territory and risk major escalation. Now it appears that the missiles arrived in recent weeks as revealed in the strike on a Russian airfield in Berdyansk, in the Russian-occupied eastern part of the country, Politico reported, citing two people familiar with the deliveries.
Read the full storyU.S. House Committee Report Says ‘Human Tragedies on Mayorkas’ Hands’
The U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security has released additional findings from its ongoing oversight investigation into the consequences of border policies implemented by President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas.
In its third interim report, it addresses the impact of these policies on American citizens, communities, and law enforcement officers, citing numerous reports and investigations laid out in 82 pages with nearly 500 footnotes.
Read the full storyCommentary: DOJ Gag Order on Trump’s Political Speech Threatens All Candidates for Public Office
“A TERRIBLE THING HAPPENED TO DEMOCRACY TODAY – GAG ORDER!”
That was former President Donald Trump on Truth Social on Oct. 16 following a gag order by U.S. District Judge Tanya Chukan forbidding him from criticizing Special Counsel Jack Smith in the Justice Department’s criminal case against Trump over allegations he somehow committed election fraud by challenging the results of the 2020 election.
Read the full story