Day: November 10, 2023

As Joe Biden Promised Tax Fairness, His Son Rushed to Erase His Delinquent Taxes, IRS Memos Show

Just the News

As Joe Biden marched toward the presidency in 2020 with a promise to force the wealthy to pay their “fair share” of taxes, his son Hunter was scrambling behind closed doors to clean up a trail of his own delinquent taxes before they became an election scandal, according to once-secret IRS memos made public recently by Congress.

IRS agents would soon discover that the future first son was continuing to allegedly misrepresent his income and deductions to the very accountant he had hired to help, the memos show.

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Steve Holzapfel Was Magistrate Who Set $10,000 Bond for Alleged Killer Before Shooting of Jillian Ludwig

Tom Pappert

The Davidson County General Sessions Court judicial magistrate who set the $10,000 bond for Shaquille Taylor in a case related to an alleged carjacking that occurred in September was identified to The Tennessee Star by the State Warrant and Bond Office on Friday as Steve Holzapfel. Taylor is accused of shooting 18-year-old Belmont University student Jillian Ludwig in the head after missing a court appearance related to the carjacking case.

Ludwig died on Thursday, two days after Taylor allegedly shot her while she was walking near the Belmont University campus. Taylor is currently in custody with a new bond of $280,000 on charges that are expected to be upgraded to murder.

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Source of Covenant Killer Manifesto Not Among Seven Officers Placed on ‘Administrative Assignment’ by MNPD, Crowder Claims

Tom Pappert

The member of Nashville law enforcement who reportedly captured photographs of the manifesto written by Covenant killer Audrey Elizabeth Hale was not among the seven Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) officers placed on “administrative assignment” by the department, conservative commentator Steven Crowder confirmed on Thursday. Crowder released three photographs showing pages from the manifesto on Monday.

In a clip from his podcast posted to social media, Crowder said MNPD “messed up” by apparently identifying the wrong officers. He clarified the source “is not one of the seven” put on administrative assignment, and said any reporting to the contrary was designed “to intimidate whistleblowers into silence.”

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Another Poll Shows Biden Trailing Trump in Battleground States

Admin

President Joe Biden is trailing former President Donald Trump in four key swing states for a potential 2024 head-to-head rematch, according to a Thursday poll.

Biden would lose to Trump in Georgia, Pennsylvania, Nevada and Arizona by anywhere from 2 to 8 points among likely voters, and is tied in Wisconsin and narrowly leading in Michigan, according to an Emerson College survey. The poll comes after a series of other surveys suggest similar margins where the former president is beating Biden in crucial battleground states, most of which Trump won in 2016 but lost in 2020.

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Tennessee’s Lee Sued over Racial-Based Oversight Board Member Requirement

The Center Square

A Virginia-based nonprofit group called Do Not Harm filed a lawsuit Wednesday against Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, attempting to block a mandate that every government regulatory board has at least one member who is a racial minority.

The Pacific Legal Foundation filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Nashville after a Tennessee resident and Do Not Harm member has not been placed on the Board of Podiatric Medical Examiners because he was not a racial minority.

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Teacher, Assistant Principal Arrested for Allegedly Paddling Student

Peter D'Abrosca

According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI), a Jackson County school administrator and teacher have been arrested for their respective roles in allegedly paddling a student. 

“At the request of 15th Judicial District Attorney General Jason Lawson, on October 10th, TBI special agents joined the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and the Department of Children’s Services in investigating a complaint of an assault of a student in a Jackson County elementary school,” said a TBI release. 

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Commentary: The Existential Crisis of the Big Three Automakers

Admin

The “Big Three” — Ford, General Motors, and Stellantis — have had a tough go of things lately. The recently concluded strikes by their employees were perhaps the most visible indication that all is not roses in U.S. Autoland, but there is a larger problem. That problem is summarized by the following headline from the Wall Street Journal: “Automakers Have Big Hopes for EVs; Buyers Aren’t Cooperating.”

The financial results of weak EV sales have been devastating for the Big Three. Ford reported a third-quarter operating loss of $1.3 billion in its EV division. Since it sold 20,962 EVs in the third quarter, the per-unit loss on each of those vehicles is an eye-popping $62,016. Ouch!

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Abortion Activists to Take Strategy ‘To the Next Level’ After Ohio Win

Admin

Abortion activists are hoping to take their strategy “to the next level” after a resounding win at the ballot Tuesday making abortion a right in Ohio, according to Axios.

The state’s voters confirmed abortion as a state right by nearly 60% during a ballot initiative that Democrats had heavily pushed for months. Putting Ohio in the rearview, pro-abortion activists are turning to states like Arizona, Nevada and Florida, hoping to apply a similar strategy to enshrine abortion rights in the states’ constitutions, according to Axios.

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Minnesota Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Remove Trump from 2024 Primary Ballot

Admin

The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot in the state.

The court found that state law permits parties to do as they wish in the primary election, writing that “winning the presidential nomination primary does not place the person on the general election ballot as a candidate for President of the United States.” However, the court did not address the question at the center of the case: whether Trump is eligible for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies public officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

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Atlanta Officials Approve $40 Million Outlay for Public Safety

The Center Square

The Atlanta City Council approved a plan to spend more than $40 million on public safety equipment, including new apparatus for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department.

A spokesman for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens confirmed to The Center Square that the spending plan includes $19 million for the Atlanta Fire Rescue Department and $21 million for the Atlanta Police Department.

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Federal Government Chooses Maryland over Virginia as New Headquarters for FBI

The Center Square

The federal government has finally selected Greenbelt, Maryland, as the location for its new FBI headquarters, concluding a search process that began more than 10 years ago.

Congress authorized the General Services Administration to start looking for a new site for the FBI headquarters in 2012 after a decade of complaints about the security, technological capabilities, “deteriorating infrastructure,” and other issues with the current facility in Washington, D.C. The GSA narrowed its search to Greenbelt and Landover, Maryland, and Springfield, Virginia, in 2014, and state lawmakers and officials from both states have actively pursued the selection of their state throughout. 

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Report: Six Rashida Tlaib Fundraisers Connected to Terrorism

Admin

A new watchdog report claims that at least six fundraisers for Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) are connected to terrorism.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, the report from the Canary Mission, an organization which monitors anti-Semitism in the United States, declares that at least “six terror-linked activists who all served as co-hosts for fundraisers for her 2018 congressional campaign,” when she was first elected to Congress.

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Ciscomani, Sinema Oppose Proposed VA Rule Cutting Ambulance Reimbursement

The Center Square

Lawmakers from both parties in Congress are vocalizing opposition to a proposed Veterans Affairs cut to reimbursement rates for ambulance services set to take effect in February.

The move is so the department can avoid overpaying for emergency medical transportation services, but critics warn it could lead to less access to that transportation to VA hospitals if the payment model is shifted. 

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Election Problems Persist This time in Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania and Texas

Just the News

Voters in counties nationwide ran into a handful of different issues at polling locations during Election Day on Tuesday, from voting machines flipping votes in a Pennsylvania county to electronic poll books malfunctioning in Louisville, Kentucky.

Several states had statewide, local, and/or municipal elections on Tuesday, including Kentucky, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and Texas. The first two states had gubernatorial elections, while the last two had local and statewide ballot questions or judicial races.

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Electric Vehicle Registration Fee Recharging for Next Florida Session

The Center Square

As more electric vehicles hit the highways, states are worried about fuel tax collections headed in the opposite direction.

States, including Florida, are considering or have been already enacted, annual registration fees to ensure owners of electrics pay a fair share of the cost of maintaining the roads, highways and bridges, said Doug Shinkle, who oversees the transportation program for the National Conference of State Legislatures.

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Music Spotlight: Storme Warren

Bethany Bowman

I often ask artists who influenced their careers. Well for me, not being a musician, the person who has most influenced me is the television and radio broadcaster, Storme Warren. Although I have little desire to become a television personality, I have learned so much about interviewing artists by listening to Storme nearly every day for 16 years on Sirius XM’s The Highway.

Besides having attended events in person where I saw Storme in action, I have heard how he interacts with the artists on his shows, especially on his fascinating podcast, Exit 209 (named after the actual exit you take to get to Music Row and downtown Nashville) where he delves into the very beginning of an artist’s life and career.

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Commentary: Virginia Again Ranked Among Top States in National Scorecard on Hospital Patient Safety

Admin

Virginia’s run as one of the top states in the nation for hospital safety scores continues. The Commonwealth is second overall among states in the Fall 2023 Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade state rankings that are based on the share of hospitals in each state that earn “A” grades.

“Providing high-quality, compassionate care focused on patient dignity and safety is central to the mission of hospitals across Virginia,” said Ballad Health Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Eric Deaton, the Chair of the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) Board of Directors. “The latest Leapfrog Group Hospital Safety Grade scores showing strong performance on patient safety illustrates the priority Virginia hospitals place on caring for patients.”

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Commentary: The EPA’s Coming Energy Catastrophe

RealClearWire

The nation’s electric grid experts and operators now work in a constant state of emergency. There’s little if any respite in the change of seasons. Fears of soaring electricity demand overwhelming power supplies during searing summer heat are now matched by an equally unnerving fear millions will be left shivering in darkness during the coldest days of winter.

The question is no longer will there be rolling blackouts or grid emergencies but rather when or where.

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Marjorie Taylor Greene Moves to Impeach DHS Secretary Mayorkas

Just the News

Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene on Thursday unveiled a resolution to impeachment Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who has long been a lightning rod for conservative criticisms of the Biden administration’s immigration policy.

Greene’s effort represents the latest in a long line of efforts to boot Mayorkas for his handling of an unprecedented surge in illegal arrivals to the United States. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has reported more than 7 million migrant encounters at the Southwest Land Border alone since President Joe Biden took office.

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Biden Admin’s Regulatory Overhaul Will Burden Americans in the Name of Fighting Climate Change

Admin

President Joe Biden’s administration finalized guidance Thursday likely to burden Americans with costlier regulations to fulfill administration priorities such as combating climate change.

Biden’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is enacting new guidance that would require regulators to consider priorities like inequality and climate change when analyzing the costs and benefits of regulation. The White House argued the guidance is necessary so that regulations are issued with up-to-date analysis and information.

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