Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Transportation Improvement Plan Approved by Metro Council May Face Legal Challenges

Freddie O'Connell

Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s ambitious $3.1 billion “Choose How You Move” transportation improvement program, was unanimously approved by the Metro Council this week, is facing scrutiny from anti-tax activist Ben Cunningham. The opposition raises serious legal questions that could significantly impact the plan’s implementation.  With the passage this week from the Council, the initiative will be on the November ballot.

Cunningham, known for his staunch opposition to tax increases, is challenging the legality of the plan, which aims to enhance Nashville’s transportation infrastructure. His argument centers on whether the proposed spending aligns with the provisions of the 2017 state law known as the Improve Act. This law permits local governments to establish dedicated funding sources for mass transit but has specific stipulations on allowable expenditures.

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Open Primary Proponents Sue Lawmakers over Ballot Language for ‘Make Elections Fair Act’

People Voting

The Make Elections Fair PAC has filed a lawsuit against Arizona lawmakers, claiming that the description of the ballot measure provided to voters is misleading and confusing. The group argues that the language, crafted by the Arizona Legislative Council, inaccurately suggests that the initiative would mandate ranked choice voting. Sarah Smallhouse, chairman of the campaign, stated that lawmakers refused to amend the description as requested, protecting their own interests in closed primaries. The PAC is asking the court to rewrite the description in a neutral tone. They claim placing ranked choice voting in the description is deceptive. 

According to the group’s website, the Make Elections Fair Act aims to eliminate partisan primaries, placing all candidates on the same ballot regardless of political affiliation and allowing voters to choose their favorites without separate ballots. The website states the initiative seeks to “dismantle the current system”, which often excludes independent and unaffiliated voters from primary elections. The PAC believes it will promote competition, reduce polarization, and ensure that elected officials are more representative of the entire electorate.

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Kamala Harris’ Nomination for President and Arizona’s Radical Abortion Amendment May Spur Record Turnout on Both Sides, Polling Suggests

Political analysts suggest that Harris’ clear stance on abortion could be a decisive factor in Arizona, a swing state that could play a critical role in the upcoming election. Recent polling data indicates that a majority of Arizona voters support some form of abortion rights, a trend that Harris’ campaign is likely to capitalize on. By highlighting her commitment to reproductive freedoms, pundits say that Harris aims to galvanize key voter demographics, including women and younger voters, who are increasingly prioritizing this issue.

The presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee has consistently positioned herself as a staunch defender of reproductive rights, arguing that access to abortion is a fundamental human right and a cornerstone of gender equality. In April, Harris went to Tucson after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the 1800s abortion law.

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Another Left-Wing News Outlet Tries to Re-Write History to Help Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

Another left-wing news outlet is scrambling to re-write history to prevent Vice President Kamala Harris, the presumptive Democratic Party nominee for president, from attacks by her opponent, former President Donald Trump.

“Trump claims Harris helped raise millions and personally donated to a fund that got extra support to bail out protestors in the aftermath of George Floyd’s death,” says a report by WCCO, the Minneapolis affiliate of CBS, titled “Trump falsely accuses Harris of donating to Minnesota Freedom Fund, bailing out “dangerous criminals.”

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Chairman Michael Whatley: Republican National Committee Working ‘Aggressively’ to Ensure 2024 Election is Secure

Michael Whatley

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley said the Republican Party is working “aggressively” to ensure states conduct secure elections for the upcoming November 5 general election.

Whatley said the RNC has filed 96 election-related lawsuits across the country to ensure the upcoming election is conducted in the most secure way possible. This includes cleaning up states’ voter rolls, preventing illegal immigrants from voting, and enforcing voter identification requirements.

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Election Integrity Law Expert Phill Kline: ‘The Democratic Party Lost Faith in Democracy a Long Time Ago’

Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris

Phill Kline, former Kansas Attorney General and current law professor at Liberty University School of Law, said the Democratic Party “lost faith in democracy a long time ago,” specifically citing multiple occasions when Democrat-occupied executive branches “stretched the law” to act without legislative consultation or approval on partisan issues.

Kline said Democrats have abused the executive branch to stretch emergency powers to advance partisan policies, including the environment, gun control, and, most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic.

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America First Legal Files Amicus Curiae Brief Opposing Recommendation to Discipline Jeffrey Clark Based on New SCOTUS Immunity Ruling

America First Legal (AFL) filed an amicus curiae brief on behalf of Donald Trump’s former DOJ official Jeffrey Clark this month, objecting to a recommendation from the three-person panel of the D.C. Board of Professional Responsibility to discipline him over his concerns about illegalities in the 2020 election. The brief points to the Supreme Court’s new ruling in Trump v. United States, which held that presidents have broad immunity for their official acts. The D.C. Bar filed charges against Clark for drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities.

Authored by Gene Hamilton, AFL’s executive director and chief counsel, the brief summarized, “This proceeding should be discontinued because of its threat to our constitutional system’s separation of powers. … This proceeding appears to target Mr. Clark inappropriately for his political beliefs, partisan affiliation, and connection to former President Donald Trump. Such abuse of Bar oversight chills zealous advocacy in politically sensitive matters and should never be permitted.” 

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Obama Endorses Harris, Tells Vice President They’ll Be ‘Underdogs’ in Presidential Campaign

Barack Obama and Kamala Harris

Former President Barack Obama endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president on Friday, five days after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid.

Harris reportedly secured the support of the necessary delegates to claim the Democratic nomination Tuesday, two days after Biden announced he would not accept the Democratic nomination and endorsed her as his replacement in the 2024 presidential election against former President Donald Trump. Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, vowed to do “everything we can” to support the vice president in the upcoming election.

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$30 Million Lawsuit Headed for Trial After Rachel Maddow and Her Co-Stars Made ‘Verifiably False’ Statements About a Doctor They Called the ‘Uterus Collector’

The Washington Free Beacon NBCUniversal is headed for trial after a judge ruled in favor of a Georgia doctor who MSNBC’s biggest stars accused of performing “mass hysterectomies” on women at a Trump-era immigration facility in Georgia. The judge ruled that Rachel Maddow, Nicolle Wallace, and Chris Hayes made “verifiably false” statements about the doctor, who is suing NBC for $30 million. The discovery process in the lawsuit, which has received little attention, has drawn back the curtain on the inner workings of MSNBC, revealing how the liberal cable network works hand in hand with NBC News, which seeks to portray itself as nonpartisan. NBCUniversal’s standards department reviewed and approved the reporting on the Georgia doctor, before it was published on NBCNews.com and then broadcast on MSNBC programs. The NBC News correspondents, Jacob Soboroff and Julia Ainsley, worked closely with a standards executive during their reporting. Soboroff is also an MSNBC correspondent. Furthermore, Maddow—who was deposed for the lawsuit—and Hayes were personally involved in the off-camera vetting and editorial conversations around the segment to an extent that can be unusual for on-camera hosts. READ THE FULL STORY    

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Tennessee School Resource Officers to Receive $800 Bonuses From State Grant Program

SRO Class

Thanks to a state grant program, eligible school resource offers will receive an $800 retention bonus payment this summer, according a release from the The Tennessee Department of Commerce & Insurance (TDCI) and the Tennessee Peace Officers Standards Training (POST) Commission.

“This summer, each eligible law enforcement officer will receive an $800 retention bonus payment if they have completed their 2023 in-service hours and are still employed as a law enforcement officer at the time of the application,” th release said. “An additional $800 will also be awarded to all SROs who have completed the 2023-24 academic year, as well as all applicable training. Eligible officers already receive an $800 salary supplement payment from the POST Commission for completion of annual training requirements.”

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Musk Denies News Reports He’s Donating $45 Million a Month to Trump-Aligned PAC

Elon Musk

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk says news reports that he is contributing $45 million a month to a pro-Donald Trump political action committee are false.

“What’s been reported in the media is simply not true. I’m not donating $45 million a month to Trump,” Musk said during an interview Monday with Jordan Peterson, a conservative Canadian psychologist and YouTube star.

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62 Percent of Voters are Concerned Cheating will Affect the 2024 Election: Poll

People Voting

A new poll found that 62% of voters are concerned cheating will affect the outcome of the 2024 election.

According to a poll by Rasmussen Reports and the Heartland Institute released Wednesday, 62% of likely national voters have concerns about cheating in the election. A total of 37% of likely voters nationwide were “very” concerned, with 25% “somewhat” concerned, with likely voters in battleground states splitting similarly.

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U.S. Economic Growth Beats Expectations in Second Quarter

The U.S. economy grew at a rate of 2.8 percent in the second quarter of 2024, according to gross domestic product (GDP) statistics released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) on Thursday.

Higher growth in the second quarter follows poor growth in the first quarter of 2024, which measured 1.4 percent after being revised down from an initial estimate of 1.6 percent, according to the BEA. Economists expected that GDP would increase by around 2.1 percent in the second quarter of 2024, in line with typical U.S economic growth rates.

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Commentary: Obama Decided Biden’s Fate, and Democratic Elite Got Their Way

Obama, Biden, and Harris

Obama elevated Biden to presidential prominence; only he could remove Biden from it. Biden’s leftward policies had created a political deficit that his June 27 debate performance proved he could not communicate his way out of. Democrat elite’s efforts to prod Biden off the ticket had not succeeded. With time running short, push came to shove, but to succeed, that shove could not come from them alone.

Despite Biden having spent more terms in the Senate (six) than Obama spent years (four), the latter raised the former to presidential level by making him his vice president. Exact opposites in every respect, Obama had finally done for Biden what Biden couldn’t do for himself in two short-lived, ill-fated presidential runs (1988 and 2008).

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Pennsylvania Teachers Union Illegally Sent Nearly $1.5 Million to Possible Democrat VP Josh Shapiro, Complaints Claim

Josh Shapiro

Three complaints filed on Wednesday by the Freedom Foundation allege almost $1.5 million in Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA) money, raised from teachers’ union dues, was given to the 2022 political campaign of Governor Josh Shapiro.

The Freedom Foundation revealed on Thursday it filed complaints which allege PSEA made two contributions, totaling about $1.475 million, that were then transferred through an outside organization before reaching the Shapiro for Pennsylvania campaign committee.

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Trump Leads Harris in Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Michigan but Ties in Wisconsin, Poll Claims

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump

A poll released Thursday and conducted after President Joe Biden dropped his bid for reelection shows former President Donald Trump leading Vice President Kamala Harris in the battleground states Arizona, Pennsylvania, Georgia, and Michigan, while the former president is tied with the vice president in Wisconsin.

The New Emerson College pollsters found Trump enjoys his greatest lead in Arizona, where they determined 49 percent of voters support him while just 44 percent back Harris.

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Commentary: Government Policies are Exacerbating Evictions

Eviction Notice

Evictions are soaring, and Americans can’t pay the rent, potentially throwing hundreds of thousands of families out of their homes at a time when homeless shelters are jammed to the rafters with 10 million illegal immigrants.

It’s a useful reminder that the problem with our ruling elite isn’t just President Joe Biden’s dementia. They’ve made a very big bed we’re all going to be lying in.

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Six Democrats Join Republicans to Pass Resolution Condemning Harris’ Performance as ‘Border Czar’

Kamala Harris in front of illegal immigrants at border wall (composite image)

There were six Democrats who joined Republicans in the House to pass a resolution “strongly condemning” Vice President Kamala Harris, now the top 2024 Democratic presidential candidate, for her performance as the border czar.

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., the House Republican conference chair, formally condemns Harris and the Biden administration for failing to “secure the U.S. border.” The resolution notes that there have been about 9.7 million illegal immigrant encounters nationwide since January 2021.

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New England States Get $500 Million for Heating Pumps

Rheem Heat Pump Water Heater being installed by workmen

New England states are getting hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding to “supercharge” efforts to get homeowners to ditch natural gas or oil heating systems and install electric heat pumps.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded $450 million to Maine, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island to accelerate a transition to heat pump technology in residential single-family homes and multifamily buildings across the region. 

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Music Spotlight: Jet Jurgensmeyer

Jet Jurgensmeyer

Nashville native Jet Jurgensmeyer has been performing all his life. At age 19, his resume is longer than that of many who are three times his age. Jurgensmeyer has been acting since he was a small child and has recently done a lot of voice-over work. He can be seen in everything from Last Man Standing to Bubble Guppies.

When I met Jurgensmeyer at the 2024 Country Radio Seminar, I discovered that his passion for singing and songwriting may almost be greater than his affinity toward acting. Growing up in Nashville, his parents are the former owners of the Nashville Palace, a long-time popular music venue across from the Opryland Hotel and Grand Ole Opry.

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New American Greatness Poll Shows Trump Winning Pennsylvania

Donald J. Trump

Brand new battleground polling reveals Trump leading a tight race in the battleground state of Pennsylvania over Kamala Harris. In the survey of 600 likely voters, using a sample that reported as +2 percent for Biden in 2020, Trump is now +2 percent for a 47-45 percent lead.

The survey was conducted both before and after the Biden withdrawal announcement, with one-quarter of the weighted respondent interviews occurring before Biden dropped out.

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House Passes Bipartisan Resolution Establishing Trump Assassination Attempt Task Force

House Speaker Mike Johnson with House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (composite image)

The House passed a resolution to form a bipartisan task force on Wednesday to investigate the assassination attempt of former President Donald Trump on July 13.

H.R. 1367, which was spearheaded by House Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, passed the House in a unanimous vote. The task force was announced in the aftermath of U.S. Secret Service (USSS) Director Kimberly Cheatle’s evasive testimony before the House Oversight Committee on Monday, which sparked bipartisan outrage and her subsequent resignation on Tuesday.

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Matt Gaetz Introduces Bill to Bar States from Sentencing Presidential Candidates in Election Season

Matt Gaetz

Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., introduced legislation Thursday aimed at blocking state officials and bureaucrats from intervening in elections through politicized prosecutions and sentencings.

The Prevention of Election Interference Act of 2024 would bar the sentencing of presidential candidates in court 120 days before a presidential election. It also would prevent the candidate from being sentenced 60 days after a presidential election.

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