Day: January 6, 2024

Middle Tennessee State University Names New ‘Social Justice Journalism’ Concentration Coordinator

Matthew Giffin

Middle Tennessee State University named Jennifer Woodard as the new program coordinator for the school’s Social Justice Journalism concentration, according to the university’s online academic catalog.

Woodard, a Ph.D. in mass communication from Indiana University-Bloomington and an MTSU alumna, is an expert in “diversity, equity and inclusion,” “race, class, gender and media issues,” and “mediated representations of women” according to her university faculty bio. She is also a faculty member of the Women’s and Gender Studies department and “concentrated on scholarship that would enhance her ability to teach students the value of a diversified newsroom” while pursuing her Ph.D., according to her faculty bio.

Read the full story

Majority of Tennessee Trump Voters Say Conviction Would Not Change Their Vote: Poll

Tom Pappert
Donald Trump

A Majority of Tennessee voters who support former President Donald Trump say they will not vote for another candidate if the former president is convicted at any of the charges levied against him in four states and by the federal government.

The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published data on Thursday indicating 58 percent of voters who support Trump “would still vote for him” even if he “were to be convicted of one or more of the crimes that he has been charged with before the next election.”

Read the full story

Federal Employees’ Political Donations Largely Went to Biden, Other Dems in 2023

Admin
Government Workers

Over 60% of political donations to prominent political committees made by employees of the federal government’s 15 cabinet-level departments flowed to President Joe Biden and other Democrats in 2023, according to a Daily Caller News Foundation analysis of Federal Election Commission records.

The DCNF filtered donations in calendar year 2023 by individuals who listed their employer as one of 15 cabinet agencies, and who donated to the Biden campaign, the Biden Victory Fund, the Trump campaign, Save America PAC, and the respective congressional and senatorial fundraising committees for each party.

Read the full story

Eric Adams Sues Bus Companies Used by Texas to Transport Migrants

Admin

Democratic New York City Mayor Eric Adams is suing several bus companies used by the state of Texas to send migrants to his sanctuary city, he announced Thursday.

Adams signed an executive order on Dec. 27 to restrict the arrival of migrant buses, which includes requiring at least a 32-hour notice of their arrivals. The city is now suing 17 bus companies for transporting migrants to the Big Apple, saying that they’re skirting state law.

Read the full story

Family of Tyre Nichols to Hold Candlelight Vigils to Commemorate First Anniversary of His Death

Kaitlin Housler
Candle Light Vigil

The family of Tyre Nichols, who five black Memphis police officers beat following a traffic stop and foot chase last year, will hold two candlelight vigils on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of his death.

Nichols’ family, who is being represented by civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci, will hold a vigil in Memphis at the intersection of Castlegate Lane and Ross Road at 7 p.m. CT and in Nichols’ hometown of Sacramento, California, at the Tyre Nichols Skate Park at 5 p.m. PST.

Read the full story

Rep. Burchett Renews Call for Epstein Client List Release After Latest Court Docs Unsealed

Peter D'Abrosca

A United States congressman from Tennessee is still pushing for a full list of dead pedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s clients, after unsealed court documents from earlier this week named several high profile figures as associates of Epstein’s. 

“I don’t care about the list of people Epstein interacted with in just ANY capacity,” said Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) on X, formerly Twitter. “I care about the list of people who participated in his sex crimes and exploitation, especially when it involved minors. Where’s the actual client list?”

Read the full story

Leaked Donor List Confirms Far-Left Donors Backing Media Matters

Admin
Media matters

A leaked list of donors proves that the far-left group Media Matters for America is backed by numerous left-wing megadonors, despite the group claiming to be an independent media watchdog.

According to the Washington Free Beacon, while Media Matters is not required to disclose its donors due to its status as a “charity,” the group may have accidentally revealed its top five biggest donors in a public filing made with the New Mexico Attorney General’s office in November.

Read the full story

Trump Earns Praise from Pro-Life Activists as 2024 Election Nears

Admin
Trump March for Life

Former President Donald Trump has gained traction with several pro-life groups in his bid for the GOP nomination despite the movement’s heavy criticism of him over the last several months for changing his position on abortion, according to The Washington Post.

Trump has said in the past that he would not support a 15-week federal abortion ban and in September he claimed that he did not “frankly care” whether there was a federal or state ban on abortion, according to Axios. Pro-life groups such as Susan B. Anthony (SBA) Pro-Life America and Students for Life (SFL) had called out Trump for failing to support the pro-life movement but recently stated that while he is not the most ideal candidate, the former president has gotten the job done in the past, according to the Post.

Read the full story

Lawyer Ben Crump Demands Memphis Mayor Paul Young Accept Tyre Nichols Ordinances Despite Ex-Mayor Warning They Are Illegal

Tom Pappert
Ben Crump

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump reportedly urged Memphis Mayor Paul Young to embrace the police reforms passed through city ordinances following the death of Tyre Nichols last year, even after former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland claimed the ordinances were illegal.

Crump, who represents family members of Nichols, said in a statement issued on the anniversary of Nichols’ death that the family and legal team “are deeply disturbed by the recent revelation by former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland that he actively avoided signing and enforcing the Driving Equality Act in honor of Tyre Nichols that the Memphis City Council passed in Spring 2023.”

Read the full story

People in Florida Will Soon Be Able to Buy Drugs from Canada

Admin
Pharmacist

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Florida’s request to import cheap prescription drugs from Canada on Friday.

Policymakers across the political spectrum have long sought to import drugs from Canada, where drug prices are lower, and Florida’s authorization makes it the first state to import drugs in bulk from America’s northern neighbor. Florida estimates that it may save as much as $150 million on drugs treating things like diabetes, hepatitis C and certain psychiatric conditions.

Read the full story

Michigan’s Spending Spree Is ‘Unsustainable,’ Economist Says

The Center Square
Gretchen Whitmer

Since the pandemic began, Michigan has embarked on an “unsustainable” spending spree, says James Hohman, the Director of Fiscal Policy at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy,

“Michigan lawmakers will spend every dollar that they receive in revenue and state taxes have increased faster than residents’ ability to pay since the pandemic began,” Hohman said in a statement. “This is fundamentally unsustainable and lawmakers should practice restraint. Spending less would protect taxpayers, stabilize the budget and ensure that lawmakers have flexibility to meet unexpected needs.”

Read the full story

Cox Settles with Arizona Attorney General for $13 Million over Dubious Charges

The Center Square
Arizona A.G. Kris Mayes

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced a $13 million settlement with Cox Communications over “disguising price increases” as fees. 

Roughly $10 million of that settlement will be paid to the state government, but $3 million will be doled out to Cox customers who “signed up for television services” from 2017 to March 2021, even if they are still using the company’s services.

Read the full story

Virginia Del. John McGuire Claims Rep. Bob Good ‘Hates Trump,’ Cites Leaked December Video

Tom Pappert
McGuire Good

Virginia Delegate John McGuire (R-Goochland) sharply criticized Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) in a Thursday appearance on The John Fredericks Show, claiming Good harbors hatred for former President Donald Trump. McGuire launched a primary challenge against Good immediately after winning election to the Virginia State Senate.

McGuire argued to host John Fredericks, who is publisher of The Virginia Star, that Good is a political enemy of the former president, fails to represent the voters in his district, and contributed to Virginia Republicans’ loss of the Virginia House of Delegates in November.

Read the full story

Commentary: Biden’s Valley Forge Theater and the Unraveling of January 6

Julie Kelly
January Six

Joe Biden plans to commemorate the third anniversary of the events of January 6 by giving a speech Friday morning near Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the historic site where General George Washington regrouped the Continental Army despite all odds in 1777-78.

After years of comparing Jan 6 to 9/11, Pearl Harbor, and the Oklahoma City bombing, Biden will again desecrate hallowed ground and the graves of the victims—roughly 2,000 soldiers died over a six-month period at the Valley Forge encampment—to prioritize the largely peaceful protest at the Capitol as a pivotal event in American history. Fighting Trump and his supporters, the stunt apparently is supposed to demonstrate, is just like living in subhuman conditions fighting starvation, hypothermia, and deadly diseases to prevail over the British crown. (Ironically, Biden moved up the speech from Saturday to Friday amid bad weather forecasts.)

Read the full story

Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones Slams ‘Ridiculous Political Attack’ After Judge Tosses Effort to Remove Him from Office over 2020 Election Contest

Tom Pappert
Burt Jones

Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson tossed an effort to remove Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R) from office on Friday. Jones told The Georgia Star News in a statement that he was happy to put the “ridiculous political attack” behind him.

The lawsuit was launched by a group that argued Jones “is an insurrectionist against the Constitution of the United States of America” due to his role as an alternative elector, which his lawyer argued in court was to preserve former President Donald Trump’s legal challenge of the election results in 2020.

Read the full story

South Minneapolis Encampment Evicted, Moves Just Blocks Away

Admin
Minneapolis Homeless Encampment

A last-minute lawsuit filed by residents of a south Minneapolis homeless encampment came up short, clearing the way for the city to move forward with its scheduled eviction Thursday.

U.S. District Court Judge Eric Tostrud declined to issue a temporary restraining order Wednesday that would have prevented the city from clearing the encampment at East 23rd Street and 13th Avenue South. That decision came in response to a lawsuit filed by the Climate Defense Project on behalf of encampment residents, who accused the city of violating their constitutional rights.

Read the full story

‘I Actually Feel Quite Valued’: Mentorship Program Works to Retain New Teachers

Admin
Teacher and Students

Jack Fredericks is investing in new teachers because he wants to help them stay in the classroom for the long haul.

He serves as the program coordinator for the new teacher mentorship program in the West Tallahatchie School District, something he worked with his superintendent to create after researching mentorship as a Teach Plus Mississippi policy fellow. 

Read the full story