Tennessee took in the 16th most H-1B workers during the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
This FY year went from October 1, 2023, to September 30, 2024.
Read the full storyTennessee Brings in 16th Most H-1B Workers During FY 2024
Month: January 2025
Texas Supreme Court Ends Texas State Bar’s ‘Witch Hunt’ Against AG Ken Paxton’s Top Deputy over His Efforts to Secure Elections
The Texas Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday dismissing the State Bar of Texas’s (SBT) four-year-long attempt to discipline Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster, calling it an “egregious invasion of the attorney general’s authority.” Webster assisted Paxton with combating election wrongdoing in the 2020 election, which included filing the lawsuit Texas v. Pennsylvania over the election irregularities in four states in 2020, which was joined by 21 other states.
Paxton, who is facing similar charges from the SBT, posted on X, “After four years of lawfare and political retaliation, the Texas Supreme Court has ended this witch hunt against the leadership of my office. The Texas State Bar attempted to punish us for fighting to secure our national elections, but we did not and will not ever back down from doing what is right. We have seen this playbook used against President Trump and other effective fighters for the American people and I am pleased that this attempt to stop our work has been defeated.”
Read the full storyTennessee Among Top Five States for Growth in 2024: U-Haul Data
Tennessee ranked fifth in the nation for growth based on the number of one-way entries to the state in 2024, according to data compiled by the moving company U-Haul.
Read the full storyJudge Rejects Trump Bid to Toss Hush Money Conviction, Sets Sentencing for January 10
Justice Juan Merchan on Friday rejected President-elect Donald Trump’s bid to toss out his conviction in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s hush money case.
Read the full storyTN U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett: People Want to See President-Elect Donald Trump’s Agenda Move Forward
Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) ensured that House Republicans, like Americans, want to see President-elect Donald Trump’s agenda move forward despite the drama surrounding Friday’s speakership vote.
On Friday morning prior to the U.S. House voting to elect Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) as its speaker, Burchett joined The Michael Patrick Leahy Show where he made the remarks.
On Friday morning prior to the U.S. House voting to elect Mike Johnson (R-LA-04) as its speaker, Burchett joined The Michael Patrick Leahy Show where he made the remarks.
Johnson Wins Speakership After Two Holdouts Flip
Mike Johnson has won the first round of voting for Speaker after two holdouts flipped to back him.
Read the full storyJohnson Appears to Come Up Short in First Round, but Voting Stalls
Mike Johnson appears to have come up short in his bid to remain Speaker of the House, with several Republicans voting for other candidates and no one securing a majority.
Read the full storyH-1B Visas Have an Undeniable Fraud Problem
Shortly before Americans celebrated Christmas, two federal criminal cases affirmed long-standing warnings that the government’s H-1B visa program was ripe for fraud, and slow to bring accountability.
The cases in California and Illinois brought some long-awaited justice to schemes that have tried to help companies rig a system designed for narrow high-tech skills to instead hire foreigners for jobs that should have gone to Americans.
Read the full storyAnti-Trump Republican Denver Riggleman Considers Campaign for Virginia Governor
Former U.S. Representative Denver Riggleman, the former Republican congressman who considered voting for President Joe Biden in 2020, and served under the House January 6 committee after he left Congress in 2021.
In remarks published on New Year’s Day by The Washington Post, Riggleman confirmed he has already started to launch an exploratory committee to determine his path to the Republican nomination to serve as Virginia’s next governor, telling the outlet he would run a campaign based on “facts, data, humor and integrity” to spread his message.
Read the full storyCommentary: Obama’s ‘Censorship’ Office Goes Bankrupt
The Global Engagement Center, an office housed within the State Department and aiming to thwart disinformation and misinformation, has been forced by Congress to close up shop. It’s no mystery why; the taxpayer-backed GEC violated its mandate to work only overseas and devolved into a partisan enabler of speech suppression in the United States.
Read the full storyThree Major Financial Firms Join Exodus from Climate Group, Bringing Total to Five in Past Month
Citigroup and Bank of America announced Tuesday that they were leaving the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, Reuters reported.
Then on Thursday, Morgan Stanley announced, it, too was terminating its membership with the group, according to Bloomberg.
Read the full storyMortgage Rates Near Six-Month Peak as Bidenomics Burns Through American Buying Power
U.S. mortgage rates rose to an almost six-month high toward the end of 2024, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).
In the waning days of President Joe Biden’s term, the recent surge in mortgage rates rounds out four years of inflated home prices and high rates that have boxed out many first time home buyers. The average interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with loan balances of $766,550 or less jumped to 6.97% over a one week period ending Dec. 27, 2024, which is up from 6.89% the week prior, resulting in a suppressed volume of mortgage applications, according to a Thursday press release from MBA.
Read the full storyTennessee State Sen. Brent Taylor Celebrates Following Resignation of Judge Who ‘Detests’ State Bail System
Tennessee State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) celebrated on Thursday after Shelby County General Session Court Bill Anderson announced his resignation, confirming he will leave the judicial bench on March 1.
Anderson was previously the subject of complaints by Taylor to the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct (BJC), initially for declaring his “detest” for the Volunteer State’s bond and bail system, and more recently for releasing a man from jail despite the defendant being accused of firing a gun at a Memphis FedEx facility, citing the defendant’s ability to pay bail, despite Tennessee legislation that specifically prohibits judges from considering the financial circumstances of a suspect.
Read the full storyMexico’s Tariff Move on Apparel Imports Disrupts Supply Chains, Pushes Firms Toward Reshoring in the US
Just before Christmas, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum announced a significant increase in tariffs on textiles and apparel imports, along with the end of a “border-skipping” practice, which allowed U.S. e-commerce sellers to bypass tariffs on Chinese goods. The move – part of Mexico’s strategy to protect its own domestic textile industry and reduce reliance on Chinese imports – sent ripples through the global supply chain.
“The increased tariffs and cessation of duty-free imports puts apparel brands in a scramble to find alternative fulfillment solutions and consider shifting strategies from nearshoring via Mexico to reshoring their operations in the U.S.,” Ryan Martin, President of Distribution and Fulfillment at ITS Logistics said in a statement.
Read the full storyNew Orleans Police Chief Admits She ‘Didn’t Know’ City Had Barriers to Stop Vehicles Driving on Sidewalks Before Terrorist Attack
New Orleans Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick said in a brief Thursday press conference that she was unaware New Orleans had “yellow archer” obstacles designed to prevent vehicles from driving on sidewalks.
Kirkpatrick’s remarks come after video was posted to the social media platform X showing the white Ford truck authorities say was used by terrorist Shasmud Din Jabbar to kill 14 people was able to evade a police vehicle and commit the attack after driving on the sidewalk.
Read the full storyOhio State Diversity Payroll, China Funding Scrutinized as Alum JD Vance Becomes Veep
Taxpayer transparency watchdog Open the Books sacked the Buckeyes in a report Monday on its diversity, equity and inclusion bureaucracy, including 201 employees with “DEI-related roles” who last year cost $13.3 million, which it said could pay in-state tuition for 1,000 students.
Read the full storySteve Cortes Offers Solution in H-1B Visas Debate
Steve Cortes, former senior spokesman and strategist for the 2016 and 2020 Trump campaigns and current head of the League of American Workers, has offered a solution in the debate among conservatives on the H-1B visa program which he believes can “satisfy” those on both sides of the issue.
Read the full storyThe United Football League Announces Its 2025 Season
The United Football League (UFL) announced its full 2025 game schedule on Thursday, adding that league’s media partners – FOX, ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, FS1, FOX Deportes, and ESPN Deportes – will broadcast all 43 games.
“We are thrilled to have exceptional partners like FOX and ESPN, who share our passion for celebrating the game and telling our story to a wide audience,” Russ Brandon, UFL President and CEO said in a statement. “With the launch of FOX UFL Friday, we’re excited to invite new fans to experience the incredible talent and heart that our players bring to the field.”
Read the full storyTwo Indian Nationals Indicted for Elder Fraud Scheme Targeting Victims Nationwide
A federal grand jury in Tucson returned an indictment against two Indian nationals – Ahmed Maqbul Syed, 57, and Rupesh Chandra Chintakindi, 27 – over their alleged involvement in a conspiracy to commit money laundering. Syed, in addition to the money laundering charge, was also indicted on a charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Read the full storyFBI Silent on Whether Videos Recorded by Terrorist Shamsud Din Jabbar Before New Orleans Attack are ‘Legacy Tokens’ Unfit for Release
The FBI did not immediately respond to a Thursday press inquiry from The Tennessee Star asking whether the agency will release the videos allegedly recorded by Shamsud Din Jabbar, who authorities say committed the January 1 terrorist attack in New Orleans that claimed the lives of at least 14 people.
According to CNN, with the outlet citing law enforcement sources, Jabbar recorded and posted to Facebook a series of videos during his drive from his modular home community the outskirts of Houston, Texas to New Orleans.
Read the full storyFederal District Judge Blocks the Protect Tennessee Minors Act From Taking Effect
A federal judge ruled to block a Tennessee law aimed at protecting minors on the internet from taking effect in the new year.
Read the full storyTrump’s Former DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark Has Oral Argument Appealing Recommendation to Suspend His Law License
Oral arguments took place last month in the appeal by Donald Trump’s former Department of Justice Jeffrey Clark over a recommendation suspending his law license for two years due to his efforts advising Trump on 2020 election irregularities. A three-member committee of the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility (BPR) found him culpable on August 1 of violating attorney ethics rules due to drafting a letter that was never sent to Georgia officials advising them of their options in dealing with the irregularities.
The Washington D.C. Bar’s counsel, Hamilton Fox, who is pressing to disbar Clark as a “threat to democracy,” gave the argument for the bar to eight members of the BPR. Fox referred to the letter Clark drafted as a “false letter,” since the officials above him decided not to send it. One of the attorney members on the BPR responded that attorney ethics rules don’t prohibit attorneys from disagreeing with their superiors.
Read the full storyHomelessness Spiked 18 Percent in 2024; Migrants Caused Record Rise
The number of homeless people in the U.S. reached the highest level recorded in 2024, as more than 770,000 people lived without housing on a single night in January, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s annual report.
The number is an 18% increase from 2023, fueled in part by the surge of migrants illegally entering the U.S. and residing without housing in sanctuary cities, the report noted.
Read the full storyViolent Venezuelan Gang Reportedly Attacked Border Crossings as Concerns Mount About More Possible Violence
Tren de Aragua gang members armed with weapons attacked crossings along the Texas-Mexico border, according to an internal memo obtained by the New York Post.
Earlier in December, 20 members of the notorious Venezuelan prison gang attempted to force their way into the country at a border checkpoint near El Paso, Texas, while armed with blades, broken liquor bottles and tire irons, according to a leaked Texas Department of Public Safety memo obtained by the Post. Another attempt to bust into the U.S. is expected on New Year’s Day.
Read the full storyCommentary: Betting on Homeschooling and Microschooling
I have spent the past thirty-five years creating small, highly-personalized schools where students flourish. I have, if you will, bet my life on the value of these schools—microschools before they became a thing. Over the course of that time, I’ve seen hundreds of children who were anxious, depressed—sometimes even suicidal—become happy and well within weeks or months of switching from a large, impersonal public school to a small learning environment which offered a closely-connected community.
Based on that experience, for the past decade I’ve been looking at research showing the various ways in which small, high-touch learning environments may be more beneficial for student mental health than are large, impersonal public schools.
Read the full storyTech Giants Secure Work Visas for Tens of Thousands of Foreigners While Kicking Existing Employees to the Curb
U.S. tech giants have been sacking employees in droves while simultaneously importing tens of thousands of foreign workers.
Amazon, Google and Microsoft have laid off at least 27,000, 12,000 and 16,000 employees, respectively, since 2022. However, in that same roughly three-year period, the companies have secured at least 61,000 H-1B visas combined for foreign workers, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
Read the full storyNew Orleans Police Chief Teaches FBI Course on ‘Bias and Diversity,’ Helped DOJ Gain Oversight of Chicago P.D.
Anne Kirkpatrick, the chief of the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD), instructs executive members of law enforcement agencies on “bias and diversity” as a National Instructor for the Leadership Training Program at the FBI’s Law Enforcement Executive Association.
Kirkpatrick, who leads the NOPD as it responds to the early in the morning terrorist attack allegedly committed by Shamsud Din Jabbar on January 1, was described as an instructor for the FBI program by the National Press Foundation (NFP) in 2024. She was a panelist for the foundation in January 2024, when the group said Kirkpatrick recommended police increase their engagement with journalists.
Read the full storyNew Orleans Bought Retractable Bollards to Prevent Terrorist Attacks in 2017, but Announced Four-Month Replacement in November
The City of New Orleans spent $40 million on a public safety plan in 2017, including retractable bollards placed on Bourbon Street that were designed specifically to prevent terrorists from using their vehicles to strike pedestrians.
Seven years later, the New Orleans Department of Public Works announced in November that the bollards would be removed and replaced over a four-month project that was originally estimated to conclude in February 2025.
Read the full storyVenezuelan Prison Gang Crime, Arrests Confirmed in 22 U.S. States
Of the more than 14 million illegal border crossers reported under the Biden administration, an unknown number of violent Venezuelan Tren de Aragua prison gang members illegally entered the country.
Now, police records and official law enforcement statements confirm TdA-linked crime and arrests have occurred in 22 U.S. states.
Read the full storyGun-Toting Driver Plows into New Orleans Crowd, Killing at Least 10
A gun-toting driver plowed his pickup truck into a crowd of New Year’s Eve revelers in New Orleans’ famed French Quarter and opened fire on officers, killing 10 and injuring at least 35.
Authorities said they also found explosive devices on the truck in what they called an “intentional act.” But the city’s mayor and the FBI differed on whether the event was a terrorist attack.
Read the full storyOhio Could Pass Comprehensive College DEI Ban in 2025
An anti-Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bill that failed to pass the Ohio legislature in 2024 could be debated again and potentially passed next year.
Senate Bill 83, also known as the Enact Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act, passed the Ohio Senate but was not passed by the House in this legislative session.
Read the full storyVirginia U.S. Rep. Spanberger Says Tulsi Gabbard ‘Dangerous’ as Trump’s Pick for Director of National Intelligence
Outgoing U.S. Representative Abigail Spanberger (D-VA-07), who is leaving Congress to pursue the Democratic Party’s nomination for Governor of Virginia, said it was “dangerous” for President-elect Donald Trump to nominate Tulsi Gabbard to serve as Director of National Intelligence (DNI) in an interview with ABC 7 News published Tuesday.
Spanberger, who formerly worked as a federal agent for the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and a case officer for the CIA, made the remarks about Gabbard when asked about those nominated by Trump to serve in key intelligence positions during his second term in the White House.
Read the full storyCommentary: A MAGA Wishlist
We did it.
The greatest comeback in political history, President Donald Trump taking back the office he held four years ago, is historic and nothing short of remarkable. The message it sends is that “Make America Great Again,” the MAGA movement, is here to stay. Long gone are the days of the old GOP establishment, the controlled opposition that had no problem managing the decline of the nation along with the Democrats. Now, Americans are no longer the forgotten men and women. We are ascendant, and we must make sure that our party will continue this path for the foreseeable future.
Read the full storyCommentary: Devin Nunes Reemerges
2024 proved to be the year of the reemergence of many once and unfairly pilloried public figures.
Elon Musk weathered nonstop attacks on his X social media platform. Furor escalated over his newfound 2024 Trump advocacy—even as he ended 2024 with his iconic Tesla brand still the best-selling car in six states and the most popular electric vehicle in the entire nation.
Read the full storyCommentary: Trump Driving Foreign Policy Blob Crazy by Daring to Put America First
For the past 40 years, American politicians have argued how wars in far-flung third-world countries are in the United States’ vital strategic interests. From Iraq to Kosovo, American leaders of both parties squandered trillions of dollars and thousands of lives chasing phantom threats around the world.
The rationale behind these interventions has often been based on outright fabrications cloaked by high-falutin’ language to the American public. Take President Bill Clinton’s 78-day bombing of a European capital — the first since World War II. Clinton sold the intervention as a way to prevent World War III: “We act to prevent a wider war, to defuse a powder keg at the heart of Europe, that has exploded twice before in this century with catastrophic results.”
Read the full storyVoters Balked on Natural Gas Bans, but Climate Advocates Are Hoping to Withstand Court Challenges
When a Consumer Project Safety commissioner suggested in 2023 that the federal government would consider banning gas stoves over safety concerns, it set off fierce nationwide backlash. While the Energy Department finalized stove efficiency standards, they were watered down from the original proposal and no outright ban ever materialized.
No federal ban on gas stoves materialized, but climate advocates seeking to stop consumers from accessing natural gas have tried a number of state and local efforts to achieve their goals – all with similar results as that on the federal level. Despite more recent losses, they’re looking at trying some other strategies.
Read the full story