Aaron Gulbransen: Tennessee House Should Have Introduced a ‘Clean School Choice Bill’

Classroom

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director of the Tennessee Faith and Freedom Coalition, said the Tennessee House of Representatives should have introduced a “clean” universal school choice bill instead of attaching additional incentives not particularly related to school choice to the bill.

While the governor’s school choice bill in the House includes additional incentives, the Senate’s version solely focuses on the governor’s proposal.

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Fallen Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney Killed in Line of Duty by Friendly Fire, District Attorney’s Office Says

Joseph McKinney

Memphis Police Officer Joseph McKinney, who was fatally shot last week while responding to a suspicious vehicle call, is reported to have died by friendly fire, according to the Shelby County District Attorney’s Office.

On April 12, at approximately 2:00 a.m., the Memphis Police Department (MPD) responded to a suspicious vehicle call at Horn Lake Road and Charter Avenue.

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Michael Patrick Leahy: As a Plaintiff in Covenant Manifesto Case, I Want All Documents Released, Not Just the Killer’s Writings Recovered from Vehicle

Michael Patrick Leahy, editor-in-chief and CEO of The Tennessee Star, said as a plaintiff in the case seeking to compel the Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) to release the manifesto left behind by the Covenant School shooter, he believes the the full manifesto should be released – not just the “documents in the car” found on the day of the shooting which Metro Legal suggests would satisfy the plaintiffs in the case.

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U.S. Wheat Farmers Stare Down Huge Losses as Foreign Goods Flood Market

Wheat combine

Many American wheat farmers may face losses in 2024 due to a glut of foreign supply coupled with soaring equipment and labor costs amid high inflation, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Wheat prices are near their lowest point in nearly four years as supply from the Black Sea and Europe has unexpectedly flooded the market after three years of droughts draining reserves, hitting winter wheat farmers in the Great Plains particularly hard, according to Reuters. Costs for transporting and producing American wheat have soared compared to foreign wheat suppliers, with high inflation increasing costs for farm equipment, repairs and labor for farmers.

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Tennessee Lottery Raises over $113 Million for Education in Third Quarter of Fiscal Year 2024

Lottery Balls

The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation announced Tuesday it raised $113,820,000 for education in the Volunteer State during the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24), which spanned from January 1 through March 31.

“The Lottery is proud to announce this quarter’s results, which reinforce our commitment to funding vital education programs for Tennesseans,” Tennessee Education Lottery President and CEO Rebecca Paul said in a statement.

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Biden EPA Giving Millions to ‘Immigrant Justice’ Groups Registering, ‘Mobilizing’ Dem-Leaning Voting Bloc

New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice public assembly

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is handing out millions of taxpayer dollars to a coalition featuring two immigration-focused activist organizations, one which pushes voter registration for traditionally Democrat-leaning demographics.

As part of a $600 million round of grant funding issued in December 2023 to advance “environmental justice,” the EPA gave out $50 million to a Fordham University-led coalition including the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and the New Jersey Alliance for Immigrant Justice (NJAIJ). The NYIC explicitly engages in “nationally recognized” voter registration and get-out-the-vote efforts and pushed for a New York City law that allows non-citizens to vote, while the NJAIJ has advocated for same-day voter registration and maintains a voter registration portal on its website.

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Memphis Mayor Paul Young Wants Property Tax Hike to Cover Budget Shortfall, Fight Crime

Paul Young

Memphis Mayor Paul Young confirmed he will ask for a property tax hike, explaining the money is needed to cover a budget shortfall and fund the city’s fight against crime.

Young announced his plans during a Tuesday event at Mount Vernon Church in Westwood that marked his first 100 days in office, revealing the city needs “at least $30 million” to fulfill obligations previously funded by expiring federal funding. The Commercial Appeal also reported Young also “vowed” a 10 percent “reduction in violent crime” each year he is in office.

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Commentary: The Teachers’ Unions Are More Political than Ever

Becky Pringle

In the past, teachers’ unions concentrated on fighting to keep all teachers employed—competent or otherwise—laying off teachers by seniority when necessary and soaking taxpayers every chance they could. While those activities are still part of their mission, they have, over time, increasingly delved into the political/social realm, promoting Black Lives Matter, Critical Race Theory, DEI, class warfare, gender-bending, etc. And their current level of engagement is staggering.

Americans for Fair Treatment, a national nonprofit organization that educates public employees about their rights in a unionized workplace, recently released a report detailing the National Education Association’s (NEA) financial filings from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2023.

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Democrat Challenging Judge Overseeing Georgia Trump Case Now Under Investigation

Robert Patillo

The Democrat challenging Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee is reportedly under investigation by a Georgia watchdog over campaign materials that referred to him as an elected judge.

Robert Patillo is under investigation by a panel at the Judicial Qualifications Commission (JQC) over “campaign conduct” involving his former campaign website and current campaign email, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Wednesday.

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Arizona Attorney General Confirms No Enforcement of 1864 Abortion Law Until June

Kris Mayes

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes confirmed on Tuesday her office will not enforce the 19th century abortion law recently upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court until at least June.

Mayes said in a video posted to the attorney general’s account on X clarifying that the law is slated to go into effect on June 8. Calling the ruling “outrageous,” Mayes also confirmed she is “working on a plan to fight back” against the abortion ban.

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Virginia AG Miyares Announces Nearly $110 Million in Opioid Settlement Payments

Jason Miyares

Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares announced on Tuesday the receipt of more than $100 million in opioid settlement payments from drug manufacturers, distributors and pharmacies who agreed to the financial compensation for their role in the opioid crisis.

The press release by Miyares’ office explained the latest round of payments totaled about $108.4 million of the $1.1 billion secured by Virginia in opioid settlements.

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Elections Analysis Delivers Bad News for Arizona Republicans Following Landmark Abortion Ruling

Jaun Ciscomani and Kari Lake (composite image)

A nonpartisan elections analysis announced two rating changes on Wednesday that endanger Republicans for competitive races in the battleground state of Arizona following a ruling that imposed a near-total abortion ban.

The Arizona Supreme Court decided on April 9 that an 1864 law, which allows for abortion only when the life of the mother is at risk and makes performing or helping procure the procedure a crime, can take effect. The ruling, which has supercharged the issue of abortion in the swing state, prompted Sabato’s Crystal Ball to move the expected Senate matchup between Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego and Republican Kari Lake to “Leans Democratic,” as well as shifting GOP Rep. Juan Ciscomani’s reelection bid to “Toss-Up.”

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Commentary: The Coup d’Etat Against Candidate Trump

Donald Trump

In 1967, I had the privilege of studying criminal law at Yale University. The teacher was a superpower in the field named Joe Goldstein.

After a short time, we got to a series of cases where a prosecutor had empaneled a grand jury and gotten an indictment against some poor soul — almost always poverty-stricken and often black — who had either no evidence against him (and he was almost always male). That poor soul usually was convicted. He went to prison and that was that.

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Commentary: Impeachment ‘Whistleblower’ Was in the Loop of Biden-Ukraine Affairs That Trump Wanted Probed

Eric Ciaramella

The ‘whistleblower’ who sparked Donald Trump’s first impeachment was deeply involved in the political maneuverings behind Biden-family business schemes in Ukraine that Trump wanted probed, newly obtained emails from former Vice President Joe Biden’s office reveal.

In 2019, then-National Intelligence Council analyst Eric Ciaramella touched off a political firestorm when he anonymously accused Trump of linking military aid for Ukraine to a demand for an investigation into alleged Biden corruption in that country.

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Denver Mayor Cuts Police Budget by $8 Million to Fund Illegal Aliens

Mayor Mike Johnston

Denver Mayor Mike Johnston (D-Colo.) has announced a new spending package that will fund the hordes of illegal aliens flooding into the state, including cutting the city police department’s budget by $8 million in order to support illegals.

As Fox News reports, Johnston’s $45.9 million proposition will go towards funding “newcomers” in the year 2024, on top of the $44 million that has already been spent on illegals in recent years. The city of Denver used to spend a mere $2 million every month on illegals as far back as August; as of December, that amount soared to $15 million a month. The number of illegals living in shelters peaked at 5,000 in January but has since fallen to about 1,000.

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Soros PAC Bets Big on White Women to Deliver 2024 Victory for Democrats

Joe Biden with supporter

A PAC funded by George Soros is bankrolling a political committee that is trying to convince moderate white women to vote for Democrats.

Democracy PAC donated $1 million to the One For All Committee, which produces and runs advertisements aimed at persuading “moderate white women” to vote for Democrats in “key battleground states,” according to a campaign finance disclosure. One For All has, in its past campaigns, supported President Joe Biden, Democratic Senate candidates and Janet Protasiewicz, a Democrat-endorsed Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate.

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House Committee Finds Chinese Government Pushes Fentanyl Materials, Fueling Drug Crisis

Bags of confiscated fentanyl

A new report Tuesday detailing the Chinese Communist Party’s role in the fentanyl crisis plaguing the country details the findings of a House investigation that concluded the Chinese government subsidizes the manufacturing and export of fentanyl materials and refuses to crack down on the illicit market.

The report, released by the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, coincided with a public hearing with former Attorney General Bill Barr, former DEA Chief of Operations Ray Donovan, and an expert from the RAND research organization.

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