The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published results of its poll on Wednesday revealing how registered Tennessee voters would vote in the 2024 presidential and senate general election races.
Read the full storyDay: April 10, 2024
Texas Republican Mike Olcott Corrects the Record After NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Falsely Claims His Vanquished Opponent, Glenn Rogers, Is a Conservative
Mike Olcott, a Republican who won last month’s primary election for Texas House District 60, invalidated News Channel 5’s Phil Williams’ claims that his opponent he defeated in the race, State Representative Glenn Rogers, was defeated by “billionaire” pro-school voucher “forces.”
Read the full storyReporter Cheryl Fritze: Trump Needs to ‘Stay on Message’ to Win Michigan
Cheryl Fritze, director of News Operations for Michigan News Source, said former President Donald Trump must “stay on message” in order to win the state of Michigan in the November general election.
In the 2020 general election, incumbent President Joe Biden defeated Trump in Michigan by 2.78 percent.
Read the full storyTennessee Senate Votes Unanimously to Pass the Protect Tennessee Minors Act
The Tennessee Senate voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass the Protect Tennessee Minors Act, which would require online websites that distribute “content harmful to minors” to implement age-verification methods to verify the age of users attempting to access the material.
Read the full storyIndicted, Powerful Former Ohio Utilities Chairman Dead; Suicide Suspected
Ohio’s former chairman of the Public Utilities Commissioner, facing charges in the state’s biggest corruption case, has been found dead. The body of Sam Randazzo was discovered late Tuesday morning in a building he owned in Columbus. He was 74.
Read the full storyMemphis Records 100 Homicides in First 100 Days of 2024, Police Say Number Could Swell to Nearly 400
Just 100 days into the year, the Memphis Police Department reported on Tuesday that it recorded the city’s 100th homicide of 2024.
Memphis Police Department (MPD) Chief CJ Davis revealed on Tuesday that her department recorded 100 homicides on April 9, coinciding with the 100th day of 2024, as part of a public safety update delivered to the Memphis City Council.
Read the full storyNavy Orders ‘Deep Dive’ into Readiness After Massive Ship Deployment Delay
The Navy’s top officer ordered a “deep dive” investigation into readiness and maintenance issues after one amphibious assault vessel, the USS Boxer, deployed after months of delay, according to Military.com.
The Boxer carries fighter aircraft and Marines and serves as the flagship of its designated combat unit known as an Amphibious Ready Group (ARG), supporting the U.S. military’s ability to rapidly deploy forces across the globe. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said she directed senior officers in February to do an initial investigation into the delays that could provide lessons for the rest of the amphibious fleet, Military.com reported.
Read the full storyIdaho Teen Planned to Attack Churches in Support of ISIS over Ramadan: Affidavit
An Idaho teenager allegedly planned to attack churches during Ramadan after pledging his support for the Islamic State, according to an affidavit from the Justice Department.
Alexander Scott Mercurio, 18, of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, was arrested over the weekend and charged with attempting to provide material support to a terrorist organization, officials announced late Monday.
Read the full storyStates File Suit to Block Biden’s Student Debt Forgiveness Plan
A coalition of states has filed a legal challenge to President Joe Biden’s latest executive effort to forgive a portion of Americans’ student loan debt.
The lawsuit comes after Biden on Monday announced the plan, which the states in question say is an overreach of executive authority. The White House claims that Biden has so far canceled at least some of the debt for 4 million Americans, totalling $146 billion so far.
Read the full storyTennessee Becomes 10th State to Sanction Girls Flag Football
The Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA) voted on Tuesday to make girls flag football an officially-sanctioned Tennessee high school varsity sport beginning in the 2024-2025 school year.
The TSSAA voted unanimously in favor of Franklin High School’s proposal to make the sport a sanctioned sport. The TSSAA previously tabled the proposal during its December 2023 legislative council meeting.
Read the full storyPoll Finds Biden Hemorrhaging Support Among Crucial Voting Block — Even as They Trend Democrat on Key Issues
President Joe Biden is losing support among Latinos ahead of the 2024 election despite the crucial voting block moving toward the Democratic Party on key issues, a Tuesday poll found.
Support for Biden among Latino Americans has steadily declined since the last time the question was asked in June 2023, and he now holds only a nine-point favorability lead over former President Donald Trump, according to an Axios/Ipsos survey. The poll also found that Latinos are backing Democrats on the issues of abortion and immigration, and are trending toward the party on the economy and crime.
Read the full storyTennessee Senate Passes Bill to Arm Teachers After Gallery Cleared Due to Outbursts
The Tennessee State Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to allow some teachers to be armed on public school property, but the Senate gallery needed to be cleared prior to the vote following a series of outbursts from activists opposed to the bill.
Lawmakers voted to pass SB 1325, which would allow school faculty and staff to carry concealed handguns if they obtain an enhanced handgun carry permit, complete 40 hours of school safety training annually, obtain approval of relevant school and law enforcement authorities and are not restricted from owning firearms.
Read the full storyFlorida to Penalize Those Who Expose Law Enforcement Officers to Fentanyl
Penalties for those who expose law enforcement officers to fentanyl are set to increase in the Sunshine State after new legislation was signed Monday.
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed Senate bills 718 and 66. The first creates a second-degree felony for any adult individual who recklessly exposes first responders to fentanyl that results in an overdose or serious bodily harm.
Read the full storyKari Lake Declares Opposition to Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ruling, Urges Legislature Create ‘Common Sense Solution’
Arizona U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake on Tuesday declared her opposition to the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling that maintains a 19th century abortion law.
Lake confirmed she is opposed to the Tuesday decision by the Arizona Supreme Court to uphold the 1864 abortion law that predates Arizona’s statehood. The ruling effectively bans elective abortions in the state, limiting them to extreme instances when the life of a mother is threatened by the pregnancy.
Read the full storyLawmakers React After Norfolk Southern Agrees to $600 Million Settlement to Resolve Lawsuits from East Palestine Train Derailment
Norfolk Southern Corporation announced Tuesday that it reached a $600 million settlement in a class action lawsuit in response to the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, last year.
The railroad company said in a press release that if the court approves the settlement, all class action lawsuits within a 20-mile radius of the derailment and all personal injury claims within a 10-mile radius of the derailment will be resolved.
Read the full storyWisconsin Directs Federal IDEA Funds Toward Racism, Equity Workshops
A project housed under the Wisconsin Department of Education is using federal special education funds to pay speakers to provide instruction to teachers on race, equity and Black queer feminist methodology.
Wisconsin’s Educational Equity Network’s virtual events feature presentations from authors and activists, including notable and controversial writers such as Ibram X. Kendi and Robin DiAngelo, about racism, inequity and marginalized gender or sexual identities.
Read the full storyPennsylvania Road Closure Costing Residents Thousands in Tolls
The reopening of a three-mile section of Route 611 through the Delaware Water Gap – shut down since December 2022 due to rockslides – has been complicated by a combination of nature and red tape.
In the meantime, area residents pay tolls multiple times a day along a detour that crosses into New Jersey and business owners struggle to keep their doors open.
Read the full storyYoungkin Takes Final Action on 1,046 Bills Passed by Virginia Lawmakers, Vetoes 153
Governor Glenn Youngkin on Monday night finished acting on the more than 1,000 bills passed by Virginia lawmakers during the 2024 legislative session, signing nearly 800 bills into law.
In total, Youngkin signed 777 bills into law. The governor made amendments to an additional 116 bills, sending them back to lawmakers for further review, and vetoed 153.
Read the full storyBiden Campaign Hires Staff, Opens New Offices in Georgia as Polls Show Him Losing to Trump and Donors Sound Alarm
The campaign to reelect President Joe Biden announced it hired new staff and a series of new offices in Georgia last week. The decision to expand Biden’s political operation in Georgia comes as former President Donald Trump continues to poll ahead of the Democrat in surveys of Peach State voters.
Biden’s campaign reportedly confirmed the addition of seven new offices and nine new full-time campaign workers in Georgia, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The outlet reported a Biden spokesman claimed “the seven offices will be open by mid-April.”
Read the full storyGeorgia, South Carolina Port Operations Could Be Affected by Baltimore Collision
While the discussion continues following the collapse of Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge, several opportunities to improve operations and processes have emerged.
Officials at Georgia’s and South Carolina’s ports have vowed to help however they can.
Read the full storyReport: Michigan Might Lose 700,000 Residents by 2050
A Michigan report says up to 700,000 people could leave the state by 2050.
An April report, which does not measure inbound migration, from the Michigan Center of Data and Analytics says Michigan’s population has shifted to mostly older people and more residents are dying than being born.
Read the full storyArizona Supreme Court Upholds Arizona’s 1864 Law Banning Almost All Abortions
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a 4-2 ruling Tuesday upholding Arizona’s 1864 territorial ban on all abortion unless necessary to save the mother’s life, A.R.S. 13-3603. After the Arizona Legislature passed a law in 2022 banning abortions after 15 weeks except to save the mother’s life, A.R.S. 36-2322, Planned Parenthood challenged the older law, which was revived after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood alleged that the two laws were in conflict, so the earlier law must be struck down. After a split between the lower courts, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the law, finding that the two statutes were harmonious. The court relied upon legislative language accompanying the newer law, which said it did not supersede the earlier law. Both laws penalize the provider of the abortion, not the mother.
Read the full storyAfter Being Stabbed 22 Times, Derek Chauvin Suffers Setbacks, Double Standards
In November 2023, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was copying documents in a law library at a federal prison in Tucson when he was stabbed 22 times. Chauvin is slowly recovering from the attack but continues to suffer a series of peculiar setbacks and double standards.
Read the full storyCommentary: Clinton Allies Attack ‘Good Guy with a Gun’
A left-wing group led by Hillary Clinton’s 2016 Campaign Chairman claims a “good guy with a gun” is a bad thing. Tell that to the good guy with a gun in Fort Worth who saved his own life, and maybe his children’s lives as well, from shooter JaDerek Gray, who opened fire on him in a road rage incident on I-35 West.
Gray was driving his motorcycle between lanes, which is illegal in Texas. The hero, driving an SUV next to Gray, couldn’t see him and tried to change lanes. Gray, furious, passed the SUV and parked his motorcycle in the middle of the highway, stopping traffic, witnesses said. Gray then pulled a gun and pointed it at the hero, who was in his vehicle with his children.
Read the full storyCommentary: High Gold Price Points to Sustained Inflation
The economy looms large in the minds of most people and not simply because it is an election year. It affects us directly. We spend a lot of our waking hours at work, and our jobs are often connected to the welfare of families and children. With everything being more expensive, getting a toe hold on mere middle-class status is harder now than it was for older generations. Many people are slipping down a rung or three.
In addition to long-term trends like the decline of manufacturing and the cut-throat financialization of corporate America, unique recent events loom large. COVID lockdowns, soon followed by the government money giveaway—PPP loans, augmented unemployment benefits, rent relief, and other stimulus plans—disrupted our routines and affected the entire economy. While these measures likely prevented a deep recession, the shutdowns ruined a lot of businesses, and the various stimulus funds ended up unleashing inflation.
Read the full storyQuestions Swirl Around Deadly ATF Raid of Arkansas Home Leaving a Local Airport Administrator Dead
Newly released videos show federal agents arriving to execute a search warrant on the home of the administrator of a local airport in Little Rock, Arkansas. The raid-gone-wrong in the predawn hours of March 19 ultimately led to the death of the administrator, Bryan Malinowski, after a brief standoff with the agents.
These videos, as well as a search warrant and affidavit previously published, shed light on why an administrator at the Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport was under investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). According to the ATF he was allegedly selling firearms without the proper licenses—some of which were reportedly used in crimes—and for misrepresenting his purpose on purchase forms.
Read the full storyGovernment Watchdog Files Complaint vs. NOAA over ‘Scientific Violations’ in Climate Change Report
Protect The Public’s Trust (PPT), a government watchdog group, filed a complaint Wednesday with the U.S. Department of Commerce, requesting an investigation into what PPT says are “apparent scientific violations” in relation to how National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) collects and reports climate-related natural disasters that exceed $1 billion in damages.
Since 1980, NOAA has reported an annual tally of the number of climate-related natural disasters in the U.S. that cause damages exceeding $1 billion after adjusting for inflation. According to NOAA’s calculations, the U.S. averaged 8.5 such events between 1980 and 2023. In the last five years, however, the average reported by the agency is 20.4 events.
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