From Tinseltown to Tennessee: Roger Simon Shares His Own Journey as an ‘American Refugee’ on the Eve on New Book Release

Roger Simon

Roger Simon joined host Michael Patrick Leahy and original all-star panelist Crom Carmichael in-studio on Friday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss Simon’s new, highly-anticipated book, American Refugees.

The Oscar-nominated screenwriter and Epoch Times columnist shared personal details about his own journey to Nashville, including the city he almost moved to before settling on Music City.

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DOJ Sues Texas to Prevent State from Arresting Migrants Who Enter Illegally

Illegal Immigrants

The Biden administration is suing Texas to prevent the state from arresting migrants who flout U.S. immigration law to enter the state illegally, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Wednesday.

The DOJ is making good on its threat to sue Texas over enforcing S.B. 4, a new law signed in December 2023 that would permit local and state authorities to arrest and prosecute individuals suspected of entering the U.S. illegally, according to the DOJ and NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth. Texas Illegal immigration has surged to record levels under the Biden administration, with Texas seeing a massive influx of migrants arriving at its border with Mexico.

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Maury County Adult Caregiver Charged with Financial Exploitation of Elderly Patients

Woman Suspect

A adult caregiver in Maury County has been arrested for allegedly draining the bank accounts of her home care patients, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI). 

“In June 2023, after receiving referrals from Adult Protective Services, TBI agents initiated an investigation into an allegation that a caregiver for several home care patients in Maury County was using the victims’ debit cards to make fraudulent, personal charges on an online gambling site,” according to a TBI release. “The investigation identified Cynthia Dobbins as the caregiver responsible for the theft from the victims’ accounts.”

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Top-Ranked Political Advisor Ward Baker Delivers Four-Part Master Class on 2024 Election Cycle

Ward Baker

Political consultant Ward Baker joined Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy in-studio to discuss his insights to the state of the 2024 election cycle across the 50 states.

With the Iowa caucuses less than two weeks away and Super Tuesday a scant nine weeks after that on March 5, Baker takes listeners inside the campaigns as he shares the polling, players and places that matter most in 2024.

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Memphis Has Highest 2023 Murder Rate of All Large U.S. Cities

Memphis Police Van

Memphis had the highest murder rate of 2023 in a comparison of 10 major cities identified as “homicide hubs” within the United States, according to an analysis published Wednesday.

The only Tennessee city tracked for the Wirepoints report, Memphis had a murder rate of 63.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023. A total of 397 homicides were reported in the city last year, up by 38 percent from 2022, when the city saw 288 homicides.

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Commentary: Politicized, Progressive Big Philanthropy

Harvard Money

Steve Miller’s December 12 RealClearInvestigations article, “How Tax-Exempt Nonprofits Skirt U.S. Law to Turn Out the Democrat Base in Elections,” is both jarring and informative and helps frame many important questions facing philanthropy, conservatism, and conservative philanthropy.

Miller describes the general size and scope of activities being conducted a progressive nonprofit infrastructure that has “taken on an outsized part of the Democratic Party’s election strategy” and, specifically, how they “work around legal restrictions on nonprofits that accept tax-deductible donations by selectively engaging in nonpartisan efforts including boosting voter education and participation.”

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YoungkinWatch: Governor’s Approval Rating Remains Positive Despite November Election Defeats

Glenn Youngkin

Polling released on Thursday revealed the majority of Virginia voters continue to approve of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) despite Republicans failing to hold the House of Delegates or capture the Virginia Senate last November. 

The Mason-Dixon poll found 58 percent of Virginia voters approve of Youngkin’s job performance as governor, compared to 37 percent who disapprove. Just 5 percent of respondents said they are not sure about their opinion of Youngkin.

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Nikki Haley Says New Hampshire Will ‘Correct’ Iowa Caucus Results as She Trails Trump in Polls

Nikki Haley

Former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley said during an event Wednesday that New Hampshire voters will “get it right” and that they will “correct” the results of the upcoming Iowa caucuses.

The former governor of South Carolina is currently polling at 24.8% in New Hampshire and 16% in Iowa, trailing frontrunner Donald Trump, who is leading in both states at 46% and 51% respectively, according to RealClearPolitics. Haley was at a campaign stop in New Hampshire less than two weeks out from the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 15 and told the audience that “they have an opportunity to get this right,” according to a video from The Citizen.

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Ohio Republican Party Urges Voters to Bank Their Vote Ahead of Primary Election

People Voting

The Ohio Republican Party is urging GOP voters in the Buckeye State to participate in the Republican National Committee’s (RNC) new nationwide campaign focused on maximizing pre-Election Day voting.

The RNC’s Bank Your Vote campaign was created last year to “encourage, educate, and activate Republican voters on when, where, and how to lock in their votes as early as possible, through in-person early voting, absentee voting, and ballot harvesting where legal.”

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Arizona Lawmakers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne Push Back of Gov. Hobbs’ ‘Half Cocked Attempt to Destroy’ the ESA Program

Tom Horne

Multiple Arizona lawmakers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne have pushed back on the plan by Governor Katie Hobbs to place heavy restrictions on the state’s popular Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

Hobbs on Wednesday revealed her plan to place a series of new restrictions on the ESA program, including new state requirements for private school educators and schools, additional scrutiny for ESA contracts before funds are dispersed, a ban on “price gouging,” “minimum standards” for schools, which would apparently be set by the state, and modified eligibility requirements for students, among other new requirements and reforms.

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Atlanta Saw Less Violent Crime in 2023, but Vehicle Thefts and Shoplifting Skyrocketed

Mayor Dickens

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Police Chief Darin Schierbaum held a joint press conference on Thursday to detail what they identified as a downward trend in crime within the city, but preliminary numbers published by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) in December 2023 reveal that not all types of crime are declining.

Dickens said during the press conference that the “major crime against people” was “down more than 15 percent,” with homicides down about 20 percent and rapes down about 50 percent since 2022.

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Federal Judge Says West Point Can Continue Using Race in Admissions

West Point

A federal judge allowed the U.S. Military Academy at West Point on Wednesday to continue considering race as a factor in its admissions process.

Students for Fair Admissions (SFFA), the same group whose lawsuits against Harvard University and the University of North Carolina prompted the Supreme Court to overturn affirmative action in June, sued West Point in September. U.S. District Judge Philip Halpern, a Trump appointee, declined to issue a preliminary injunction blocking the military school’s use of race, noting in his 27-page ruling that it is currently “mid-admissions cycle.”

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SEC Rules Tech Company Can’t Block Free Speech Resolution

Apple Store

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) declined on Tuesday Apple’s request to block votes for a “free speech” shareholder resolution.

The resolution, submitted by the American Family Association (AFA), would have Apple investigate how it curates content and issue a report to address concerns that company policies enable restricting speech based on viewpoint. The SEC shot down Apple’s bid to exclude the resolution from the ballot at its upcoming 2024 Annual Meeting of Shareholders, ensuring a vote on the resolution in the spring, according to the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).

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Commentary: Claudine Gay’s Resignation Is Not the End of the University of Harvard’s Dilemma

Claudine Gay

Harvard may assume the forced resignation of its president, Claudine Gay, has finally ended its month-long scandal over her tenure.

Gay stepped down, remember, amid serious allegations of serial plagiarism—without refuting the charges. She proved either unable or unwilling to discipline those on her campus who were defiantly anti-Semitic in speech and action.

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