Day: December 19, 2023

Unmasking Academic Injustice: Dr. Carol Swain Reveals Deeper Impact on Scholarly Integrity amid Plagiarism Scandal at Harvard

Tennessee Star Staff
Carol Swain Harvard

Esteemed former Vanderbilt professor, renowned scholar, and all-star panelist Dr. Carol Swain joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on Tuesday to discuss the growing scandal involving Harvard’s Claudine Gay and increasingly difficult-to-defend allegations of plagiarism by the Ivy League school’s president.

Swain contends that Gay failed to credit her for sections of the book Black Faces, Black Interests, accusing her of derivative work since her dissertation, which Swain claims builds upon her own groundbreaking research.

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Arrest of Alleged Human Trafficker Followed Spotlight by Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, Mission America Foundation

Tom Pappert

Aaron Spradlin, who is the Chairman of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition and CEO of the Mission America Foundation, told The Star in a phone call that he’s known of suspected human trafficking activities happening at hotels where De Caldera operated since at least 2015.

Executive director Aaron Gulbransen, a former reporter for The Star, explained the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition previously informed state officials of suspected criminal activity at the hotels, and said the organization has been able to “amplify” Spradlin’s work by regularly sharing tips and insight with Tennessee lawmakers and law enforcement.

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Tennessee A.G. Jonathan Skrmetti on His First-in-the-Nation Lawsuit Against BlackRock for Alleged Consumer Protection Violations

Tennessee Star Staff
TN AG Courtroom

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti appeared in-studio on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, to discuss the first-of-its-kind lawsuit his office filed Monday against financial services giant BlackRock over alleged violations of consumer protection laws.

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Tennessee A.G. Skrmetti Puts BlackRock on Notice About ESG: ‘It’s Not for Big Financial Companies to Decide What Policies Everybody in a Given Industry Should Follow’

Tennessee Star Staff
AG Skrmetti

Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti appeared in-studio on Tuesday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy, where he laid out the reasons why BlackRock’s alleged double standards that they are pushing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives that effectively force companies to shift their priorities are not just afoul consumer protection laws.

If left unchecked, Skrmetti argues, the opaque and unaccountable nature of corporate policymaking threatens the foundational principles of self-governance.

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Gov. Abbott Signs Bill Allowing Arrest, Removal of Illegals by State Authorities

Just the News
Greg Abbott Border

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday signed a measure to make illegal entry into the Lone Star State a state crime, giving state law enforcement a potentially pivotal tool to combat illegal immigration on its own amid perceived federal apathy.

The law, which is slated to take effect in March, would empower Texas law enforcement to arrest illegal entrants and grant judges the ability to order their deportation, CNN reported.

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European Union to Investigate Elon Musk and X over Possible Violations of Social Media Laws

Admin
Musk EU

On Monday, the European Union (EU) formally announced that it would be launching an investigation into X, the platform formally known as Twitter, over alleged violations of laws meant to crack down on free speech.

According to ABC News, the investigation will be the first one of its kind under new regulations passed by the 27-nation European bloc. In a post on X, European Commissioner Thierry Breton said in a statement that “Today we open formal infringement proceedings against @X” under the Digital Services Act.

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Tucker Carlson, Tulsi Gabbard, and Jonathan Isaac Conclude Last Major Day of TPUSA’s Third Annual AmericaFest

Rachel Alexander

Turning Point USA’s third annual AmericaFest ended its third full day on Monday, featuring speeches by Tucker Carlson, Democrat-turned-independent and former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and NBA star Jonathan Isaac. Candace Owens was scheduled to speak, but due to giving birth to her third child, she submitted a short speech on video instead.

In her speech, Gabbard criticized “neocon” Nikki Haley, who has positioned herself in the Republican presidential primary race as a moderate. Gabbard lambasted the “Democratic elite” repeatedly.

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Federal Government Loans, Private Grants Available for Small Businesses Affected by Middle Tennessee Tornadoes

Peter D'Abrosca

Small businesses impacted by the deadly tornadoes that killed six people in Middle Tennessee are eligible for federal government and private grant assistance, as relief continues to pour in. 

“Low-interest disaster loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) are available to businesses and residents in Tennessee following the announcement of a Presidential disaster declaration due to severe storms and tornadoes on Dec. 9, 2023,” said the SBA on its website. 

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Before Arizona Gov. Hobbs Deployed National Guard, She Neutered Border Security Measures

Just the News

Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Friday deployed the National Guard to the southern border amid the unprecedented surge in illegal immigrant arrivals under the Biden administration.

She further pleaded with Washington to send further aid, admonishing the Biden administration for not responding to her request for $512 million to reimburse the state for border security expenses it had already incurred.

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Small Business Owners Pessimistic About the Economy, Poll Shows

The Center Square

Small business owners are pessimistic about the future of the economy, according to a new poll.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses released the polling data Tuesday, which shows that the group’s “Small Businesses Optimism Index” decreased slightly in November to 90.1, its 23rd straight month below the historical average of small business optimism.

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Embattled Harvard University Scrubs Multiple Web Pages About ‘Identity Recognitions,’ Pronouns

Admin
Outside of Harvard Law School

Harvard University scrubbed several web pages from the diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) department’s website, according to the web archive.

Two web pages, titled “Heritage Months and Identity Recognitions” and “Gender Identity and Pronouns at Harvard,” appear to have been deleted, according to the archives. Both links now route directly to the Diversity and Inclusion homepage.

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Shelby County DA Defends Agreements With Restorative Justice Groups Seeking to Eliminate Bail, Lower Number of Prosecutions

Tom Pappert

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy (D) responded on Thursday to calls by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) for Mulroy to provide agreements between his office and three restorative justice organizations that seek to lower Shelby County’s number of prosecutions or eliminate bail, and face investigation for his role in arranging the “illegal” release of a prisoner who was sentenced to more than 100 years behind bars.

Taylor issued a formal request with the Tennessee District Attorneys Conference (TDAC) seeking the agreements between

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Virginia Republicans in Rep. Bob Good’s District Prefer Trump Despite DeSantis Endorsement, Could Flip to John McGuire in 2024: Poll

Tom Pappert

A new poll conducted by Battleground Connect, provided to The Virginia Star by the congressional campaign of Delegate John McGuire (R-Goochland), indicates the majority of Republicans in Virginia’s 5th Congressional District will support former President Donald Trump over Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in March 2024, and may choose McGuire over Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) when voters return to the polls in June.

The survey reported that 71 percent of Republicans in Virginia’s 5th district hold a favorable opinion of Trump, compared to just 15 percent who hold an unfavorable opinion. Just 43 percent of those respondents reported a favorable opinion of DeSantis, while 34 percent had no opinion.

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Commentary: Public Sector Unions Are a Growing Threat to Taxpayers

RealClearWire

Following the resolution of the six-week United Auto Workers strike last month and the ensuing glut of news coverage, one could be forgiven for believing that private sector unions were experiencing a generational comeback the likes of which haven’t been seen since their halcyon days of the 1950s.

The reality, however, couldn’t be further from the truth: union participation in the private sector is now a tiny sliver of the overall employment picture in the United States. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unionization rate of private-sector workers currently sits below 6% at just under 7 million workers nationwide – down from 17 million in 1950.

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Gov. Brian Kemp Announces $1,000 Bonus for Georgia Teachers, New Funding For School Safety

Tom Pappert

Governor Brian Kemp (R) announced a $1,000 bonus on Monday for those who work in Georgia’s schools, and introduce legislation to provide Georgia with more school funding and fund a permanent, annual bonus.

In a joint announcement with Georgia House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington), and State Representative Matt Hatchett (R-Dublin), Kemp announced a $1,000 “state employee retention pay supplement” for more than 300,000 Georgia teachers and state employees who work in education.

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Federal Figures Show Surge in Homelessness

The Center Square

The number of homeless people in the U.S. jumped 12 percent to more than 653,000 people as pandemic spending expired, the highest level on record since the counts started in 2007.

Figures released Friday provide a snapshot of the number of people in shelters, temporary housing and in unsheltered settings. The report found 653,100 people were experiencing homelessness on a single night in January 2023, a 12 percent increase from 2022. That figure of 653,100 people is equivalent to about 20 of every 10,000 people in the U.S.

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Commentary: The U.S. Defense Industrial Base

RealClearWire

The Russian invasion of Ukraine, along with increased tensions in the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region, has generated many debates. Debates about the stability of the international order, the cohesion of NATO, and many others. But for the United States, one significant debate regards the size and expansibility of the American defense industrial base. It’s a discussion that is well past due.

Last year, Under Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl testified to Congress that, “What the Ukraine conflict showed is that, frankly, our defense industrial base was not at the level that we needed it to be to generate munitions.” But the challenge with ammunition is more symptom than cause, in economic terms something of a “leading indicator.”

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Majority of Small Businesses Not Seeing Holiday Bump as Consumers Run Out of Cash: POLL

Admin

In a poll of small business owners, 76 percent said that they had not seen an increase in sales during the holiday season as inflation and other economic conditions constrict consumers’ cash, according to Goldman Sachs.

Of small business owners surveyed, 55 percent said that their profit margins decreased this year, and a further 70 percent said that their own personal spending plans for their families were negatively impacted following their own assessment of the state of the economy, according to a poll by Goldman Sachs conducted from Dec. 1 to Dec. 8 of 337 small retail business owners. Consumer spending previously slowed in October as the Americans’ savings declined to $768.6 billion in the month, down from the over $1 trillion held in May and even further from the all-time high of almost $6 trillion held in April 2020.

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