Outgoing Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck on Thursday signed a Democratic discharge petition that seeks to force consideration of a Senate-passed foreign aid package that includes funds for Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel.
Read the full storyDay: March 21, 2024
CIA Blocked Feds from Interviewing Hunter Biden’s ‘Sugar Brother’ Kevin Morris During Five-Year Tax Probe
New York Post The CIA blocked federal investigators from interviewing Hunter Biden’s “sugar brother” Kevin Morris during a five-year probe into the first son’s alleged tax crimes, a whistleblower has told House impeachment leaders. House Oversight and Judiciary Committee chairmen say the whistleblower informed them the intelligence agency stopped IRS and Justice Department investigators from interviewing Morris in August 2021, a Hollywood lawyer and patron of the first son, according to a Thursday letter addressed to CIA Director William Burns. The whistleblower informed Oversight chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) and Judiciary chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) that two DOJ officials were summoned to CIA headquarters in Langley, Va. — and told Morris “could not be a witness” for their investigation into Hunter Biden. READ THE FULL STORY
Read the full storyMetro Nashville Councilman Jeff Eslick Says Smart Lights Are the Only Part of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transit Plan, So Far, That Will Improve Traffic Flow
Metro Nashville Council Member Jeff Eslick explained how one aspect of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s transit plan, which will be on the November ballot, would help control the flow of traffic for drivers in Music City.
Read the full storyActivists Sheila Matthews and Amy Miller Detail Legislative Win on Tennessee Bill to Help Determine Link Between Mental Health Drugs and Mass Shooters
Sheila Matthews, co-founder of the national non-profit parent organization AbleChild, and activist Amy Miller with the Reform Pharma initiative of Children’s Health Defense, detailed the progress a bill that would help determine the link between Big Pharma drugs and mass shooters has made in the Tennessee General Assembly since its introduction.
Read the full storyVideo Shows Illegal Migrants Overwhelming Texas National Guard, Storming Border Wall
Video taken near El Paso, Texas, shows illegal immigrants tearing down a barrier and overwhelming members of the Texas National Guard as they stormed across the border.
The illegal immigrants are seen pulling the barrier open as four National Guardsmen try to keep them from crossing the border in the video posted on X by New York Post reporter Jennie Taer Thursday. The illegal immigrants rush through the gap opened, almost trampling the National Guard personnel, until coming up against a second, sturdier barrier.
Read the full storyUMemphis Students Disrupt Rittenhouse Event, School Accused of Creating Chaos
Kyle Rittenhouse’s speech at the University of Memphis began with confusion and continued with disruption.
The university made a last-minute change to ticketing, causing confusion for people who had signed up days prior. Though Rittenhouse ultimately delivered his speech, it included a walkout and harassment of Turning Point USA members after the event.
Read the full storyInfamous Tennessee ‘Rock Doc’ Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison
An infamous Tennessee doctor who exchanged prescription opiates for sex and money will serve 20 years in federal prison, according to a release by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Jeffrey Young Jr. of Jackson, who was known as the “Rock Doc,” will begin serving his time immediately.
Read the full storyTennessee House Bill Would Increase Penalties for Illegal Alien Crime
A bill in the Tennessee House of Representatives would trigger harsher penalties for violent crimes if the person convicted of those crimes is an illegal alien.
HB 1872 “authorizes the enhancement of criminal penalties up to life in prison without parole upon conviction of violent crimes by illegal aliens; conviction of possession of a firearm or deadly weapon by an illegal alien; or conviction of a violent crime on the property of a school by any person.”
Read the full storyEnergy Secretary Insists Energy Stockpiles Will Be Refilled in 2024, but Experts are Skeptical
Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm said Monday that the nation’s energy stockpiles, which President Joe Biden depleted to its lowest level since the 1980s, will be refilled by the end of 2024.
“By the end of this year we will essentially be back to where we would have been absent the sales,” Granholm said at the CERAWeek energy conference in Houston, Texas, according to AFP.
Read the full storyPoliticians of All Stripes Focus on Post-Election Audits Before 2024 General Election Even Happens
Various state legislators are focusing on post-election audits ahead of the November 2024 general election, with Republicans looking to implement or improve audits in some states, while Democrats in one state are trying to prevent an audit of the presidential election.
Post-election audits have been on the books of some states for years, most famously, the “hanging chad recount” fought over in 2000 between George W. Bush and Al Gore, which was decided by the Supreme Court of the United States. The issue of post-election audits and the ensuing litigation has received renewed attention since the 2020 presidential election, after numerous irregularities were discovered. The Arizona Senate post-election audit was one of the more famous following the 2020 race. Dispositive evidence that irregularities “moved the needle” one way or another is still a point of contention.
Read the full storyBiden Admin Finalizes Stringent Tailpipe Emissions Standards
The Biden administration unveiled its final tailpipe emissions standards for vehicles Wednesday, effectively requiring about 67 percent of all light-duty vehicles sold after model year 2032 to be electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrids.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) finalized standards rolled back some of the de facto EV production benchmarks for manufacturers proposed initially, but still require automakers to reach the final standards set forth in the agency’s April 2023 proposal. The agency finalized the standards as the American EV market is struggling: demand has not grown as quickly as expected, manufacturers are losing billions on their EV product lines, executives have backed away from near-term production targets and Biden administration subsidy programs to facilitate the creation of a nationwide EV charging network have so far failed to make much of an impact.
Read the full storyTennessee Lawmakers Seek Tougher Penalties for Transporting Illegal Immigrants
Tennessee lawmakers are poised to pass legislation instituting harsher penalties for those caught providing transportation to illegal immigrants in the state, but first plan to introduce amendments protecting “good Samaritans” and professional drivers from unknowingly violating the law.
The Senate Judiciary Committee considered SB 2802, which would impose a $5,000 fine for individuals caught transporting illegal immigrants in the state on Wednesday, when Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) introduced an amendment to his bill he said closed existing loopholes within the law.
Read the full storyState Rep. Johnny Garrett Halts $800 Million Tax Increase Sponsored by Democrat
State Representative Johnny Garrett’s (R-Goodlettsville) amendment to a Tennessee bill that would have enacted a massive tax increase passed Wednesday in the Finance, Ways, and Means Subcommittee.
According to a fiscal note on the bill before it was amended, it would have increased state revenue by nearly $800 million in taxes on business enterprises.
Read the full storyProposal would Halt Taxpayer Money to Medical Schools Promoting Racial Bias
Educating from the podium and advocating for the inclusion of all, congressmen led by North Carolina’s Dr. Greg Murphy and Ohio’s Dr. Brad Wenstrup on Tuesday introduced legislation that would halt taxpayer money from going to medical schools promoting racial bias.
Multiple speakers, both Black and white and at least one saying she’s neither Republican nor Democrat, drove home the message directly and indirectly that health care is about the patients and their outcomes. Collectively, they explained how the best care comes from the best in education, that all can access it, and the promotion of “critical race theory-based woke philosophy based on DEI” will put Americans’ lives at risk.
Read the full storyYost and Other AGs Want Presidential Immunity Test
Three state attorneys general want the U.S. Supreme Court to establish a legal test for the limits of presidential immunity.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, Alaska Attorney General Treg Taylor, and Wyoming Attorney General Bridget Hill filed an amicus brief in former President Donald Trump’s immunity appeal on federal criminal charges.
Read the full storyVirginia State Sen. Louise Lucas Acknowledges Youngkin Could Veto Budget, but Calls Potomac Yards Arena ‘Non-Starter’
Virginia State Senator L. Louise Lucas acknowledged in a Tuesday interview that Governor Glenn Youngkin could veto the budget proposed by lawmakers, but nonetheless insisted any compromise that would fund the creation of the Potomac Yards arena for the Washington Wizards and Capitals is a “non-starter.”
In her Tuesday interview with WTOP News, she acknowledged Youngkin’s remarks indicating “he may have to veto the budget,” calling it “his prerogative.” Still, she pledged, “at no point will I ever be in a position to say I am going to commit state tax dollars for an arena that’s going to benefit billionaires,” calling it “a non-starter for me.”
Read the full storyGeorgia Judge Allows Trump Defendants to Appeal Fani Willis Disqualification
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday determined former President Donald Trump and eight of his co-plaintiffs may appeal his decision against disqualifying District Attorney Fani Willis from her election case against the former president.
McAfee wrote in his decision that the question of impropriety between Willis and Nathan Wade, her former lover who she appointed as special prosecutor and paid more than $650,000 in taxpayer money, “is of such importance to the case that immediate review should be had.”
Read the full storyArizona Poll Finds Trump Leads Biden, Gallego Has Slight Lead over Lake
Former President Donald Trump currently has the support of just under half of Arizona voters and boasts a slight lead over President Joe Biden, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The Emerson College poll found 48 percent of registered voters in Arizona support Trump’s bid to return to the White House, while 44 percent want to see Biden elected to a second term.
Read the full storyCommentary: A Huge Double-Digit Decline in the Share of Black Voters Saying Biden’s Policies Have Helped Them Could Shake Up 2024 Election
After supporting Democrats for decades, Black Americans are poised to make a marked shift away from the left thanks to the Biden Administration’s dismal economic record and abandonment of the working-class.
A striking New York Times/Siena College poll from early March shows the share of Black Americans who say Biden’s policies have “helped them personally” has taken a forty-one-point nosedive since last November’s Times/Siena battleground state poll.
Read the full storyElection Integrity Attorney Stefanie Lambert Arrested on Unrelated Bench Warrant After She Turned Over ‘Criminal’ Documents from Dominion to Law Enforcement
Stefanie Lambert, an election integrity attorney in Michigan, was arrested on Monday in Washington D.C. for failing to appear at a court hearing in Michigan involving charges against her for allegedly breaching voting machines. After agreeing to surrender to authorities in Michigan, Lambert was released on $10,000 bond. Lambert said in court filings and a statement that she failed to show up for the hearing due to a miscommunication with her former counsel, who told her the meeting was canceled.
Lambert was arrested after taking part in a hearing Monday representing her client, former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne, against a $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems filed against him in 2021. Dominion sued Byrne for predicting months before the 2020 election that there would be illegal election activity to change the results of the election, and named Dominion as one of the actors involved.
Read the full storyDual Polls Find Trump Leading Biden in Two Key Southern Battleground States
Former President Donald Trump is leading President Joe Biden in the battleground states of Georgia and North Carolina for a head-to-head general election rematch, according to dual Wednesday polls.
Trump is favored 51 percent to 47 percent against Biden among registered voters in Georgia, as well as 51 percent to 48 percent in North Carolina, the Marist surveys found. Both polls also found Trump making inroads among independents, black voters and those aged 18-to-29 compared to 2020 exit polling.
Read the full storyTennessee Agrees to $8.8 Million More in FastTrack Incentive Grants
Tennessee’s Department of Economic and Community Development has handed out more than $8.8 million in incentives since it last posted FastTrack incentives for February.
Those include $3.4 million to Schneider Electric in Mount Juliet and Smyrna, $2.5 million to Shoals Technologies Group in Portland, $1.6 million to Nokian Tyres in Dayton and $1.3 million to an unnamed project.
Read the full storyCommentary: The Gift of C-SPAN in an Era of Partisan Media
Forty-five years ago today, future vice president Albert Gore Jr. stood in the well of the House of Representatives to discuss an innovative development in television programming. There was nothing remarkable about that in itself: Al Gore had been a newspaperman before becoming a Tennessee congressman and had a genuine interest in both new technology and mass communication.
Except that there was something momentous about Gore’s speech that day. It was the first time that remarks delivered on the House floor by a member of Congress were televised. It was an event long envisioned by a 38-year-old Indiana-born, Purdue-educated, U.S. Navy veteran who had worked as a White House and Capitol Hill aide before returning to journalism. His name was Brian Lamb. As the Washington bureau chief of the trade publication Cablevision, Lamb had dreamed of creating a nonprofit cable network that would focus exclusively on public affairs, particularly Congress. It was called C-SPAN, and on March 19, 1979, that dream became reality.
Read the full storyTexas Schools Pull $8.5 Billion from BlackRock over ESG
The Texas Permanent School Fund (PSF) is pulling $8.5 billion from the investment firm BlackRock over its use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) policies.
The board informed the investment firm that it was being terminated as the manager of the Navarro 1 Fund in a Tuesday letter, which it provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation. The divestment represents the largest from the private firm, according to Fox Business Network.
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