Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said the accomplishment he’s most proud of since assuming office in 2018 is his and his team’s work to avoid raising taxes for county residents.
Jacobs said that while it is becoming “more difficult” to construct a budget amid economic challenges resulting from decisions made at the federal level, his administration is “doing everything that we can to be creative and think outside the box” to avoid raising taxes.
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Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of America First Legal (AFL), explained why the Next Generation (NextGen) Fellowship Program through AFL is a critical tool for young conservative lawyers who seek to “advance the conservative movement in a way we haven’t seen before.”
The mission of AFL’s NextGen Fellowship Program, according to the organization’s website, is to “train and build a bench of lawyers equipped with the legal skills needed to save our nation and to effectively push forward an America First agenda in government, including in future conservative presidential administrations.”
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Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the repeal of the state’s Civil War-era near-total ban on abortion Thursday, a day after the legislation passed the state Senate.
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Axios Smugglers in Mexico are increasingly using overloaded semitrailers to transport people trying to enter the U.S., often with deadly consequences, an investigation from Noticias Telemundo found. The situation lays bare the human toll of modern migration amid the growing and increasingly dangerous human smuggling industry. Noticias Telemundo, the Latin American journalism consortium CLIP and other local partners reconstructed the journeys and routes taken by 170 cargo trucks involved in either crashes or other incidents in Mexico in the past six years. READ THE FULL STORY
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Republican Senators Shawnna Bollick and T.J. Shope voted with Democrats to approve the repeal of the current abortion law in Arizona. Senator Jake Hoffman, Chair of the Arizona Freedom Caucus, asserted that Republicans “got rolled” as Democrats expedited the repeal of the 1864 law through strategic tactics aimed at bypassing procedural rules. Hoffman stated that Republicans “don’t roll their colleagues” very often, but when they do, it’s always to the detriment of Arizonans. Hoffman said that the 1864 law was “one of the best, strongest pro-life measures in the country.” He added that it is reflective of our founding fathers’ intent: the right to life. Republican Sonny Borelli criticized the decision, stating that bringing this vote forward was a violation of the process. He emphasized the lack of debate, committee involvement, or discussion, noting that everything was bypassed.
Senator Bolick, married to Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, who ironically is part of the majority on the Court that upheld the current law, faced disruptions from both the gallery and fellow Senators as she spoke for over twenty minutes. She detailed her personal experiences with pregnancy complications while emphasizing that “every pregnancy is different.” Abortion has become a rallying cry for Democrats seeking to enshrine abortion rights until birth in the state constitution through a November ballot measure. Bolick stated that she “wants to protect our state constitution from unlimited abortions up until the moment of birth” and said her vote was to protect “more babies.” T.J. Shope did not comment on his vote. Senator Anthony Kern strongly stated, “we are voting for death.”
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Rideshare application drivers in Nashville and around the country were on strike Wednesday.
“Uber, Lyft, and delivery drivers are DONE with being pushed around by app companies. We’re sick of working 80 hours/week just to make ends meet, being constantly scared for our safety, and worrying about being deactivated with the click of a button,” a group called Justice for App Workers said on its website. “Rideshare drivers and delivery workers will be striking ALL DAY and telling the app companies that WE ARE UNITED and deserve fair pay and deactivation protections.”
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Tennessee U.S. Representative Mark Green (R-TN-07) introduced a bill this week that would prohibit federal funds from being used to finalize, implement, or enforce the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) interim final rule amending the Export Administration Regulations.
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Nearly 200,000 migrants from four countries have flown into America’s biggest airports under a Biden administration parole program, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) documents reveal.
The House Homeland Security Committee on Tuesday publicized documents, obtained through a subpoena to DHS, that identifies over 50 airport locations used by the federal government to process hundreds of thousands of foreign nationals via a parole program between January-August 2023. About 200,000 foreign nationals were processed under the program — known as the Humanitarian Parole for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans, or CHNV — which was initially launched in October 2022 and grants a two-year parole period as well as work authorization eligibility.
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The wind industry produce 2.1 percent less electricity in 2023 compared to the previous year. Total wind capacity in the U.S. has tripled from 47 gigawatts in 2010 to 147.5 gigawatts by the end of 2023.
The wind energy industry managed to increase total generation capacity by 6.2 gigawatts in 2023, but the actual electricity generation decreased.
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The attorneys general of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia have joined Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ lawsuit challenging the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) name, image, and likeness (NIL) recruitment ban.
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Many companies are looking to cut down on their debts as recent high inflation reports have made borrowing more expensive as the prospect of interest rate cuts by central banks diminishes, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Even companies with already high credit outlooks are deleveraging to boost their rating with top agencies and reduce debt costs that have increased along with interest rates, while firms with lower ratings are needing to cut debt to maintain profitable operations, according to the WSJ. Investors have had to adjust their view about when interest rates might decline in recent weeks as persistently high levels of inflation have made it less likely that central banks around the world, including in the U.S., will cut interest rates, reducing the cost of holding debt.
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The lawsuit comes after the New York Times filed their own suit against both companies in December. Authors such as Games of Thrones creator George R. R. Martin, John Grisham, and Jodi Picoult have also sued the companies for copyright infringement.
Eight American newspapers sued OpenAI and Microsoft on Tuesday, for alleged copyright infringement related to their chatbots, which they claim have been stealing millions of copyrighted articles without permission.
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Oklahoma’s Republican governor signed a sweeping immigration enforcement bill into law, making the Sooner State the latest to confront the border crisis through legislative action.
Gov. Kevin Stitt signed House Bill 4156 into law on Tuesday, one week after the Republican-controlled legislature sent it to his desk. The law, which is set to take effect on July 1, makes it illegal to reside in Oklahoma without legal authorization to be in the U.S.
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A man who pled guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon in connection with a boating collision on Norris Lake last year that resulted in the death of a child has been sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).
On the evening of July 22, 2023, Norman Sturgill, 62, of Grayson, Kentucky, was operating a 19-foot Triton bass boat that collided with a 24-foot Chaparral open motorboat in front of Norris Landing Marina.
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The Tennessee Firearms Association (TFA) is joining a lawsuit with several states and pro-Second Amendment groups against the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), which says that the ATF far too broadly interpreting a new law passed by Congress regarding private gun sales.
The lawsuit stems from the definition of the term “‘Engaged in the Business’ as a Dealer in Firearms,” and claims that the ATF is angling to make citizens who sell even one firearm privately subject to licensure that large firearms sellers must obtain, according to a release from TFA.
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The Georgia State Ethics Commission referred Fulton County Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-Rahman to Attorney General Chris Carr after the commission determined she likely used campaign money for personal expenses, a Tuesday report exposed.
Abdur-Rahman, who is an ally of District Attorney Fani Willis, allegedly made purchases or payments with campaign funding to Dollar Tree, Title Max, Georgia Power, and a chiropractor, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.
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State Senator Amanda Cappelletti (D-Philadelphia) claimed as part of a Monday push to create a federal law to enshrine abortion access that 80 Pennsylvania abortion clinics have closed “in a relatively short period of time” since the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Cappelletti made the remarks to the Pennsylvania Capital-Star, and additionally claimed abortion access has fallen in the commonwealth since the landmark decision by the U.S. Supreme Court.
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An Ohio judge has extended the temporary restraining order preventing House Bill 68 from taking effect at the request of American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Ohio, which filed a lawsuit challenging the bill last month.
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After I offered a perfectly accurate negative summation of current market/industry conditions when speaking on a business venture I can’t yet discuss (but that will be quite relevant indeed to the interests of our readers), I received an admonishment from my business partner: “Stop complaining about your opportunities!” It’s an even more accurate response than mine.
All too often we spend our time grousing about the state of the world, and yet, the worse things get, the greater the opportunity grows to take control and make them better.
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Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin County) said that establishment Republicans need to come together during this election cycle to support and elect grassroots candidates and former President Donald Trump to office.
Mastriano, who recently detailed his personal experience of betrayal by establishment Republican organizations during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, said “it’s going to take a lot of effort, energy, and unity” to elect strong Republicans into office this November—especially in the toss up state of Pennsylvania.
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The University of Arizona (UA) reportedly called police to clear protesters and disperse the anti-Israel encampment that formed on its Tucson campus, with authorities arresting demonstrators and clearing their debris just after 2 a.m. on Wednesday. University President Robert Robbins reportedly told police to “immediately enforce campus use policies and all corresponding laws without further warning” early on Wednesday morning, resulting in what Arizona’s Family described as multiple arrests “by authorities in riot gear” before the camp was cleared. Though it remains unclear how many protesters were arrested, the outlet reported “there were about 70 protesters inside the encampment and around 300 supporters outside the police line” prior to the police action. Ellie Wolfe, a higher education reporter for Arizona’s Daily Star, reported on the social media platform X that Robbins ordered police to end the protest at 2:02 a.m. PROTESTERS AND POLICE CLASH, ORDERED BY UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA PRESIDENT ROBERT C ROBBINS pic.twitter.com/5M2NBQcGJP — Ellie Wolfe (@elliew0lfe) May 1, 2024 Wolfe later reported that demonstrators ultimately retreated from the encampment as officers followed them, and the tents were completely cleared by 2:50 a.m. Video that surfaced an hour earlier showed police attempting to gain access to the anti-Israel encampment,…
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Bernie Moreno, the Republican nominee in the Ohio U.S. Senate race, called out incumbent U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) for encouraging pro-Palestine protests on college campuses across the nation and in the Buckeye State, saying such demonstrations are “lawless and go far beyond free speech.”
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Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose was selected as chairman of the Republican Secretaries of State Committee this week as the group announced its 2024 Executive Committee Leadership Team.
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The first non-gas QuikTrip store on Peachtree Street in Midtown Atlanta is closing in May partially due to concerns about the safety of customers and employees, the company said.
QuikTrip (QT) Corporate Communications Manager Aisha Jefferson told The Georgia Star News last week, “It’s critically important to us that every location across our 1,000 [plus] store footprint nationwide delivers the in-store experience that QT customers have come to know, love, and expect.”
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The prevailing belief in the Democratic Party is that abortion will again be a potent issue against Republicans in this year’s election cycle just as it was in 2022 – and that this time it will not just cost the GOP gaining the majority in the U.S. Senate, but also give Democrats the upper hand in retaining the presidency and winning back the House.
Abortion rights put the brakes on the Republicans’ chances in 2022 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years; a decision that transformed American politics that year, benefiting Democrats who were on their way to a bruising midterm election defeat.
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Despite the Democratic wins in Arizona in 2020 and 2022, Republicans have been widening their voter registration edge over Democrats over the past four years. According to data from the Arizona Secretary of State earlier this year, between 2020 and 2024, Republicans increased their lead from approximately three percent to 5.77 percent. In Maricopa County, Republicans increased their lead even more, from four percent to seven percent.
The change has occurred primarily with Democratic voter registrations; Republican voter registration has remained steady at 35 percent of voters. Statewide, Republicans constitute 35.07 percent of voters, followed by independents at 34.10 percent, then Democrats with 29.30 percent. While Republicans outnumber independents at the state level by almost 40,000 voters, independents outnumber Republicans in Maricopa County by 2,631 voters.
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Israeli Prime Minister met in Tel Aviv on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing Israel-Hamas war — and disagreements over the next phase of conflict.
The Biden administration is backing an effort to reach a deal between Israel and Hamas for a temporary ceasefire and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza in exchange for the release of hostages. During their meeting on Wednesday, Blinken discussed the ceasefire deal with Netanyahu and “the need to avoid further expansion of the conflict,” underscoring the Biden administration’s “clear position” on opposing an Israeli invasion of Rafah, the southernmost region of Gaza, according to a readout of the meeting.
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The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency has issued another warning about the growing prevalence of a veterinary sedative in illicit fentanyl supply.
For years, dealers have been mixing xylazine, a non-opioid tranquilizer approved for animal use, with fentanyl and other drugs to increase potency and profits.
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House Republicans are expanding their investigation into the January 6 Committee and the security failures that led to the Capitol breach, planning to add staff and pursue new lines of inquiry, the Chairman of the subcommittee leading the investigation told Just the News.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk, Chairman of the House Administration Subcommittee on Oversight, told the “Just the News, No Noise” TV show on Tuesday that he aims to publish a final report by this summer after seeking interviews with top Pentagon officials and any former January 6 committee staff willing to come forward.
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Pro-terrorist occupations and protests have exploded across American college campuses—coincidentally, as final exams approached. Many have asked how these Hamas-loving protesters seemed so organized, coordinated, and well-supplied. The source of funding and strategy has been an open question as tent cities and occupations pop up simultaneously at universities across the country.
Reports have begun to emerge that indicate the usual suspects have coordinated everything from tents to strategies to direct cash payments to agitators. This echoes the paid, coordinated riots that occurred in 2020, another presidential election year, after the death of George Floyd and the rise of Black Lives Matter (BLM).
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For “mealy-mouthed, spineless college leaders,” actions will have consequences, the North Carolina congresswoman leading a key U.S. House of Representatives committee said Tuesday amid ongoing college campus disruptions.
The war between Israel and Hamas has led to significant demonstrations or encampments on at least four dozen campuses nationwide, a national observer of such activity reports. U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., with support of House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the Committee on Education and the Workforce she chairs has opened a congressional probe and on May 23 will hear from presidents of Yale and Michigan and the chancellor of UCLA.
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