Co-Founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman Says People are ‘Sick and Tired of Watching our Country Being Flushed Down the Toilet’

Co-founder of the Jewish Republican Alliance Mitch Silberman recently joined The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his work with the group as well as the changes he’s seen among Jewish voters amid the terrorist group Hamas’ attack on Israel last year.

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Pressure Grows in Congress to Determine If Bidens Got Defensive Intel Briefing on China Deal

The FBI conducted FISA surveillance on one of Hunter Biden’s Chinese business partners while other federal prosecutors secured evidence that a second Chinese associate of the first family was present when foreign bribery payments were made. And a major bank reported to the U.S. Treasury Department that in 2017 a $5 million loan the Bidens got from a Chinese energy company smacked of a Beijing influence operation targeting Joe Biden before he was president.

A fast-growing body of evidence from bank transactions to court transcripts is putting pressure on Congress to resolve an important question: Did Joe Biden or any of his family members get a defensive briefing from U.S. intelligence that some of their foreign business partners had unsavory ties or were engaged in criminal behavior?

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Attorney for Carol Swain Sends Letter to Harvard Corporation Demanding Answers for Plagiarism by Disgraced President

The Tennessee Star obtained the letter written by an attorney representing Dr. Carol M. Swain sent on Wednesday to the Harvard Corporation, including Interim President Alan Garber and Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker, demanding answers about what Swain claims is plagiarism of her work by outgoing President Claudine Gay.

The letter revealed Swain requires answers about what Harvard considers “duplicative language,” which is what the university has acknowledged Gay committed in several of her academic works. Writer and activist Christopher Rufo in December raised allegations that the former Harvard president plagiarized material from Swain’s work for her 1997 Ph.D. thesis. Swain is a former political science professor at Vanderbilt and a graduate of both the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Yale University.

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MTSU Teaches ‘Social Justice Journalism’ Track

MTSU

Middle Tennessee State University offers a “Social Justice Journalism” track of study for undergraduate students.

The track is called the Social Justice Journalism concentration, which students can declare if they are pursuing a major in journalism. A concentration is a specialized track of study an undergraduate student can pursue within their declared major, according to Academic Info.

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Over 30,000 Residents Left Memphis Since 2017 amid Years-Long Struggle with Crime

A report published in November found more than 30,000 Tennesseans left Memphis between 2017 and 2022, causing the city to shrink by almost 5 percent, even as Tennessee’s other major cities grew over the same period. The exodus coincides with a years-long struggle with crime in Memphis that has subsisted despite repeated attempts to render aid by the state and federal governments.

The 2023 study of population decline in United States cities by SmartAsset found that Memphis declined from 652,231 residents in 2017 to 621,050 residents in 2022, marking a 4.78 percent decrease in the city’s population. Memphis had the 27th worst decline in population in the country, according to the study.

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Media and Left-Wing Activists Ignore Claudine Gay’s Plagiarism of Carol Swain, Say Harvard President’s Ousting Is About Racism

Claudine Gay

In the wake of Harvard University’s firing of former President Claudine Gay, the mainstream news media and far-left online activists reacted by accusing their political opponents of racism, despite the fact that Gay’s ouster was preceded by public anti-semitism and plagiarism of political scientist Dr. Carol Swain.

“Harvard president’s resignation highlights new conservative weapon against colleges: plagiarism,” said a headline from Associated Press. 

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Tennessee Nurse Wanted for Negligent Homicide of Patient Arrested in Georgia

A Tennessee nurse who was wanted for negligent homicide in the death of a patient has been arrested in Tennessee after nearly nine months on the run, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“After a referral from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents began investigating an allegation that in March 2022, a certified nurse aide who worked in a care facility in Clarksville failed to properly use a lift while attempting to move a patient,” TBI said in a news release. “As a result, that resident, Patricia Oliver, sustained a fall that caused her serious bodily injury, ultimately resulting in her death. The investigation identified Takesha Tucker as the nurse aide responsible for the incident.”

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Border Residents to Congress: ‘Stop Holding Press Conferences, Shut Down the Border’

Illegal Immigrants

As another Republican congressional delegation arrived in Eagle Pass, Texas, Wednesday to hold another news conference and meet local residents, many Texans living at the border say they are fed up and want Congress to shut down the border.

If Congress continues to use taxpayer dollars to fund policies that facilitate the border crisis, they argue, Congress is complicit in creating it and a national security threat.

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Federal Appeals Court Blocks Biden Admin Bid to Require ER Doctors to Perform Abortions

Doctor

A federal appeals court on Tuesday sided with a coalition of Christian medical professionals who had objected to guidance from the Biden administration requiring that emergency room doctors perform abortions.

The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and the Christian Medical and Dental Associations, as well as the state of Texas, had challenged the Department of Health and Human Services guidance and secured an initial win at the lower court, blocking the guidance.

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Pennsylvania Representative’s Candidacy Subject of 14th Amendment Lawsuit

Scott Perry

A new lawsuit filed in Pennsylvania asks the state court to scrub Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry from the upcoming primary ballot.

Gene Stilp, a Harrisburg-based activist, filed the legal challenge in Commonwealth Court on Tuesday, claiming Perry – who represents the 10th Congressional District in south-central Pennsylvania – violated the Constitution’s 14th Amendment for his support of 2020 election fraud “conspiracy theories.”

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Mark Meadows Hires New Lawyers, Asks Appeals Court for Second Hearing to Move Georgia Election Case to Federal Court

Mark Meadows

Former Trump administration White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a new filing with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday evening, requesting an en banc hearing for his appeal of a lower court’s decision denying his request to have the election case against him in Fulton County, Georgia removed to a federal court. Meadows also retained new legal counsel for his attempt to have the entire circuit court hear his appeal.

Following the decision by a panel of judges on the 11th Circuit to deny Meadows’ appeal in December, his attorneys argued in the new filing that its ruling fails to conform with Supreme Court precedent and “consideration by the full court is necessary to secure and maintain uniformity of decisions in this court.”

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D.C. Bar Disciplinary Panel Holds Contentious Pretrial Hearing Before Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former DOJ Attorney Jeff Clark

Jeff Clark

A District of Columbia Bar disciplinary panel held a pretrial hearing last month to prepare for the upcoming disbarment trial against President Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark. Clark (pictured above) is also being prosecuted in Georgia and is an unindicted co-conspirator in Special Counsel Jack Smith’s federal prosecution, due to a letter Clark drafted to Georgia election officials after the 2020 election advising them of options the Georgia Legislature could take to address the concerns about election illegalities. The letter was never sent nor circulated.

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Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego Appointed by Sec. Pete Buttigieg to Advise Department of Transportation

Kate Gallego

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego (D) was selected by Department of Transportation (DOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg to participate in a new advisory committee on December 29.

Gallego was among the 27 members of the agency’s new Transforming Transportation Advisory Committee (TTAC) for a two-year term named by Buttigieg last week. Explaining the need for the committee, Buttigieg noted the United States faces both “unprecedented opportunity and unprecedented challenges in transportation.”

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Report Finds Some Issues with Florida’s Economic Incentive Programs

Film

The Florida Legislature’s research arm released a report documenting issues with some of the Sunshine State’s economic development incentives and programs.

A review of Florida’s entertainment industry incentives by the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability showed that 1,409 production companies had reported spending an estimated $1.3 billion on average. Companies also saved around $22 million in sales tax, and 57% of production companies said the incentives affected their decision to work in Florida.

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Commentary: The FBI-Tainted Whitmer ‘Kidnap Plot’ People Have Heard Next to Nothing About

Gretchen Whitmer

In a fiery exchange last month, CNN anchorwoman Abby Phillip told GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy that there was “no evidence” to support his claim that federal agents abetted protesters at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Ramaswamy shot back that the FBI conspicuously has never denied that law enforcement agents were on duty in the crowd. He argued that federal officials have repeatedly “lied” to the American people about not only that investigation but one that has gotten much less attention: the alleged failed plot to kidnap and kill Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan in 2020.

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YoungkinWatch: Lawmakers Reportedly Receptive to Plan for Move of Wizards, Capitals to Virginia

Hockey Team

A number of Republican and Democratic lawmakers in Virginia have expressed support for the effort by Governor Glenn Youngkin and Alexandria Mayor Justin Wilson to bring the NBA’s Washington Wizards and NHL’s Washington Capitals to Virginia, though one high profile senator has ruled out the possibility without significant action.

The plan to relocate the professional sports teams was announced on December 15, 2023, when Youngkin said it would require $1.35 billion in public dollars, making it the “largest-ever public subsidy for a project of its kind,” according to The Washington Post.

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Michigan State Police Ticket, Warn 1,563 People over New Distracted Driving Law

Phone Driving

Michigan State Police have given 1,563 citations and written warnings for the new distracted driving law over about five months.

From July through late November 2023, MSP issued 720 citations and 843 verbal warnings for the law to keep drivers focused on the road to prevent distracted driving and road deaths, according to documents obtained through records requests.

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Poll: Connecticut Voters Oppose Electric Vehicles Sales Mandates

EV Charging

A majority of Connecticut voters oppose a Democrat-led push to phase out the sale of gas-powered vehicles in the state, according to a new poll.

The poll commissioned by the Specialty Equipment Market Association — a trade association representing aftermarket auto manufacturers and retailers — found that nearly 60% of the voters surveyed opposed proposed legislation to phase out the sale of gas- and diesel-powered cars and trucks over the next decade.

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Nevada Judge Attacked in Court by Defendant She Refused to Grant Probation

Delone Redden

Video captured the moment Nevada Judge Mary Kay Holthus was attacked in her Las Vegas courtroom on Wednesday as she prepared to decline requests from a recently convicted criminal and his attorney, who requested probation or a suspended sentence.

Holthus was reportedly attacked by Deobra Delone Redden seconds after it became apparent she intended to decline his requests. Video shows Holthus declaring, “I think it’s time he get a taste of something else, because I just can’t with that history.” Holthus was interrupted by screaming expletives, and video appears to show Redden fly across the judge’s bench to attack her.

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House GOP’s Majority to Shrink Further After Ohio Representative Announces Resignation

Bill Johnson

The Republican majority in the House of Representatives will decline to just two seats after the departure of Republican Rep. Bill Johnson of Ohio, whose resignation was announced on Tuesday.

House Republicans’ four-seat majority declined by two members over the month of December following the expulsion of George Santos and the resignation of former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy from the chamber. Johnson’s departure, which he announced in November, will bring the number of Republicans in the chamber to 219, which is just one member more than the 218 seats in a full House that a party needs for a majority.

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Democratic Senator Charged with Aiding Qatar in New Corruption Charges

Bob Menendez

Embattled U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez is facing new federal charges alleging that he worked as an agent for Qatar in exchange for monetary bribes.

Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, was charged with receiving gifts from Qatar in a new superseding indictment made public Tuesday by the U.S. Justice Department that alleges the bribery and extortion scheme continued into 2023, nearly a year longer than initially alleged by federal prosecutors. 

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Commentary: Only Citizens Should Vote in America

Voting

The next step in radically changing America is now underway. City officials in our national capital plan to allow non-citizens to vote next year. 

President Joe Biden let millions of illegal immigrants cross the border. Then he bussed them to Washington DC. The city’s Democratic machine now wants to let them vote – knowing they will almost certainly vote Democrat for all the support and assistance.

This policy is a clear threat to American nationalism.

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Prosecutors Ask for January 6 Conspiracy Figure Ray Epps to Receive 6-Month Prison Sentence

January Six Riot

Federal prosecutors are asking the court to sentence Ray Epps, the defendant at the center of Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot conspiracies, to six months in prison. 

In a 29-page court filing Tuesday, prosecutors asked the court to sentence Epps to six months in prison, which they said is the “high end” of the applicable sentencing guidelines. Epps, a retired 62-year-old former Marine and former Arizona Oath Keeper leader, pleaded guilty in September to disorderly conduct in a restricted building, a misdemeanor, and agreed to pay $500 in restitution as part of a plea agreement.

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