Day: January 20, 2024

Almost 40 Percent of New Hampshire Voters are Unaffiliated, Can Vote in GOP Primary and Possibly Skew Results

Rachel Alexander

With efforts to close New Hampshire’s presidential primary likely failing, the state’s primary could be determined by the state’s independent voters, who make up nearly 40 percent of the state’s electorate.

Republicans make up significantly fewer voters, 29.82 percent, and Democrats slightly more, at 30.28 percent. Since President Joe Biden has no significant challengers in the state’s Democratic primary, many Democrats were expected to register as independents — known as undeclared voters in the state — to sway the Republican primary.

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Roger Simon Calls Speaker Mike Johnson a ‘Face Man,’ ‘Coward’ After Continuing Resolution Deal

Kaitlin Housler
Mike Johnson

Roger Simon, co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, joined the newsmaker line on Friday’s edition of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy to discuss his coverage of former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s performance in Iowa, Argentine President Javier Milei’s speech at the World Economic Forum, as well as the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent vote to pass a continuing resolution.

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Former Tennessee Judge Accused of Being ‘Drug Kingpin’ Faces 10 Years in Prison After Pleading Guilty to Money Laundering, Marijuana Charges

Tom Pappert
Perry Stout

Former Johnson County General Session Court Judge Perry Stout pleaded guilty to charges related to money laundering and distributing marijuana on Friday in a plea agreement with prosecutors that saw charges dropped related to the weapon he allegedly possessed at the time he committed the crimes, a conspiracy to sell the drugs, and maintaining a home to sell or use drugs.

Stout was reportedly “visibly broken in appearance,” in court on Friday, reported The Tomahawk, which added that he “seemed almost disconnected” from the events unfolding in the court room, “but was very keen to ensure that his family was considered in connection to his plea deal.”

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Family to Sue Biden Admin for $100 Million over Death of Woman Killed by Illegal Immigrant

Just the News
Kayla Hamilton

The family of Kayla Hamilton, a 20-year-old woman killed by an illegal immigrant, plans to sue the Biden administration for $100 million, partially blaming the administration’s immigration enforcement policies for her wrongful death.

The illegal immigrant raped Hamilton and subsequently strangled her with a phone cord. Prior to the murder, he entered the U.S. unlawfully in March 2022, but secured release into the interior under the Biden administration’s directives.

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House Dems Float Trading Border Deal in Exchange for Helping Save Mike Johnson’s Job

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Johnson Thompson

Several House Democrats are weighing trading a border deal in exchange for helping Republican Speaker Mike Johnson keep his gavel as tensions rise over how to address the record surge in illegal immigration amid a contentious election year, Politico reported Friday.

The Senate is expected to unveil a bipartisan border deal soon tied with funding for Ukraine, while Johnson is receiving pressure from former President Donald Trump not to give Democrats a win on the topic ahead of November. As some House conservatives are threatening to oust the new speaker over the prolonged spending fight, several House Democrats have floated opposing such a motion to vacate in exchange for Johnson bringing the eventual Senate deal to the floor, according to Politico.

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Federal Investigators Demanded Banks Search Private Transactions for Words Like ‘MAGA,’ ‘Trump’

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Cabelas Store

On Wednesday, the Republican majority on the House Judiciary Committee revealed even more drastic examples of government surveillance and breaches of privacy in the aftermath of the protest on January 6th, including the searching of Americans’ private bank transactions.

According to Fox News, the Judiciary Committee and the subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government described their latest findings in a letter obtained by Fox. The letter states that investigators ordered banks to search through their customers’ private transactions for key terms such as “MAGA” and “Trump,” while also claiming that the purchasing of “religious texts” were a sign of “extremism.”

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Biden DOJ Wants Former Trump Advisor Peter Navarro to Spend Six Months in Jail

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Peter Navarro

The Department of Justice (DOJ) argued Thursday that Peter Navarro, previously a trade advisor to former President Donald Trump, should face six months in jail and pay $200,000 for failing to comply with a Jan. 6 select committee subpoena.

Prosecutors wrote in their sentencing memo Thursday that Navarro “exacerbated” the “assault” on the rule of law that occurred on Jan. 6 by flouting the subpoena, stating that his “bad-faith strategy of defiance and contempt deserves severe punishment.” Navarro was indicted on contempt of Congress charges in June 2022 after he declined to testify during his deposition and did not produce the documents requested by the select committee.

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Network of Left-Wing Donors Funding Shadow Campaign to Block Second Trump Administration

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Donald Trump

A coalition of far-left groups and donors are already putting plans in place to actively block a second Trump Administration’s agenda in the event that former President Donald Trump wins again in November of 2024.

According to the Daily Caller, some of the organizations involved include Protect Democracy, Georgetown University’s Institution for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), and Democracy Forward. These are among the many other groups that are financially backed by the far-left billionaire George Soros and his international network, as well as other left-wing mega-donors such as eBay founder Pierre Omidyar.

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Ford Slashes Production of EV Truck Biden Drove to Promote Green Agenda

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EV Ford

Ford is cutting back production of its F-150 Lightning electric vehicle (EV), a model that President Joe Biden took for a test drive to market his administration’s EV agenda.

Ford made the official announcement that it will be reducing its F-150 Lightning output in 2024 amid slower-than-projected growth in EV demand. Biden test drove a F-150 Lightning in Michigan in May 2021 to promote his administration’s EV agenda, which aims for EVs to make up 50% of all new auto sales by 2030.

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Tennessee Democrat to Reportedly Face Primary Challenge over Refusal to Back Tennessee Three

Tom Pappert
Johnny Shaw

A member of the Tennessee Three indicated on Friday that he may back a primary challenger against State Representative Johnny Shaw (D-Bolivar) for a seat in the Tennessee General Assembly that Democrats have held for nearly 25 years. The remarks came after Shaw refused to join other Democrats in an ineffectual vote against rules in the Tennessee House designed to prevent chaotic speeches and insults.

Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis), one of the three members of the Tennessee House who faced expulsion last year, told The Tennessee Lookout on Friday that, while he respects Shaw as a “black American in this country” born in an “era in American history of legalized subjugation of black people,” he will nonetheless seek to find and support Democratic candidates who “align with the vision of a more just Tennessee” in 2024.

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Connecticut’s Democrat AG Shuns Ranked Choice Voting

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William Tong

The election process known as ranked choice voting isn’t compatible with one of the oldest state constitutions in America, Connecticut Attorney General William Tong, a Democrat, says. 

Tong released an 11-page legal opinion Tuesday stating that the system of voting, which allows voters to rank their choices of candidates, violates at least two standing provisions of the Connecticut Constitution. The state’s attorney general said it was a “close call,” however.

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Commentary: Education Freedom Is Georgia’s Top Priority

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Field Trip

In his recent State of the State address, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp strongly endorsed Georgia’s education freedom legislation, which offers disadvantaged Georgians the same quality education as everyone else. “Our job is not to decide for every family but to support them in making the best [education] choice for their child,” said Kemp. “That is what we were elected to do.”  

Senate Bill 233, the Georgia Promise Scholarship Act, establishes education freedom accounts (EFAs) of $6,500 annually for families who choose better education alternatives. Eligibility is limited to families whose children attend the worst 25% of schools statewide. Parents can use the funds for any educational expense, including tuition, fees, books, tutoring, and transportation. This bill should be the legislature’s top priority in 2024.  

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Credit Card Statements from Nathan Wade’s Estranged Wife Purportedly Prove Fani Willis Vacationed, Took Cruises with Special Prosecutor

Tom Pappert
Fani Willis

A new legal filing claims to contain proof that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade, whom she appointed to oversee her case against former President Donald Trump, are engaged in a romantic relationship. Containing financial statements showing he purchased plane tickets for Willis, the filing was made by the special prosecutor’s estranged wife, Jocelyn Wade, in response to Willis’ filing, which claimed she was attempting to “embarrass” and “harass” her by including Willis in the divorce proceedings.

The filing in the divorce case reveals he was previously held in contempt of court for refusing to comply with discovery obligations in the case, despite himself initiating the divorce. When Nathan Wade eventually supplied “a portion of his outstanding required discovery responses” on December 22, 2023, his estranged wife’s legal team received “credit card statements which demonstrated that [Wade] had paid for and taken trips unrelated to his work with the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office.”

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Ohio Business Optimism Rises, Concerns Remain Real

The Center Square
Business Owner

Ohio businesses were more optimistic in December but still well below normal, citing inflation as their biggest concern, according to a new survey from the National Federation of Independent Business.

The most recent study showed the NFIB Small Business Optimism Index rose 1.3 points in December to 91.9 but is still well below the 50-year average of 98. It’s the 24th consecutive month the index failed to meet the long-term benchmark.

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Florida Bans DEI in Public Colleges

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Students Learning

In Florida, the state Board of Education passed new regulations prohibiting public colleges from using public funds for programs and initiatives based on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

As ABC News reports, the Florida Board of Education categorizes such DEI efforts as “any program, campus activity, or policy that classifies individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, gender identity, or sexual orientation and promotes differential or preferential treatment of individuals on the basis of such classification.”

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Dem Presidential Candidate Dean Phillips Gets Attacked by Own Party for Removing ‘Diversity’ from Campaign Website

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Dean Phillips

Democratic members of Congress criticized presidential candidate Dean Phillips after he removed the word “diversity” from his campaign website.

Phillips’ website renamed a section titled “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” to “Equity & Restorative Justice” on Tuesday, according to Politico. The move drew criticism from fellow Democrats, with one arguing he had been influenced by a $1 million donation from billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman.

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UPenn Sees Increase in Chinese Donations After Biden’s Think Tank Documents Scandal

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U Penn Campus

The University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) saw the amount of donations from China more than triple in its most recent reporting period, shortly after the university faced a scandal regarding Joe Biden’s storage of classified documents in his think tank’s offices at the university.

As reported by Fox News, the surge in foreign donations was revealed in documents obtained by Americans for Public Trust (APT). With donations from individuals and entities directly tied to the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the university saw roughly $25 million in such donations during the 2022-2023 academic year. By contrast, the academic year of 2021-2022 saw just $8.6 million from China.

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Youngkin Signs Executive Order Establishing Artificial Intelligence Standards

The Center Square
Glenn Youngkin

Gov. Glenn Youngkin signed an executive order to implement artificial intelligence standards and guidelines he says will protect Virginians.

Executive Order 30 will implement AI educational guidelines for the classroom and policy and information technology standards. He says it will “safeguard the state’s databases while simultaneously protecting individual data” for Virginians.

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America Salutes You Presents ‘A Concert for Gratitude’

Bethany Bowman

Hosted by legendary country singer Clint Black, America Salutes You Presents ‘A Concert For Gratitude’ that will air on five distribution platforms from January 20th – February 20th.

This televised event mobilizes support for our troops and first responders through music with its eighth event and telecast. The TV special features performances by Clint Black (with Lisa Hartman Black and Lily Pearl Black) Chrissy Metz, Dustin Lynch, Jo Dee Messina, Alana Springsteen, Megan Moroney, Walker Hayes, Charles Esten, Lecrae, War Hippies and Lee Greenwood (celebrating the 40th anniversary of “God Bless the USA.”) Craig Morgan, Jelly Roll and Trace Adkins will have special performances and Gary Sinise was honored with the America Salutes You Lifetime Achievement Award.

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Maine Secretary of State Appeals Superior Court Decision

The Center Square
Maine Secretary of State

Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows has appealed to the state’s Superior Court decision to pause on a ruling to remove former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot.

Bellows is appealing the Superior Court’s ruling to not decide on the ballot case to the Maine Supreme Court. The court is awaiting the U.S. Supreme Court decision on Colorado.

Earlier this week, Kennebec County Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy issued the stay on the Maine secretary of state’s decision to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot, citing the 14th Amendment. 

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Commentary: New Biden Labor Dept. Rule Likely to Hurt Millions of Small Businesses, Independent Contractors

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Remote Worker

Some 99% of American companies are small businesses, and 100% of businesses started out small, but a recently finalized rule from the Biden administration’s Labor Department will make it harder for small businesses to start, grow and succeed.

As of last May 1, a White House news release pointed out, “Young firms, which often start small with few employees, are a driving force in job creation.” That’s been particularly true since the COVID-19 pandemic, as small businesses with fewer than 50 employees have accounted for a growing share of new jobs.

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