Trump Orders Immediate Halt to Federal Funding of Sex Change Treatments, Surgeries for Children

President Donald Trump

President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Tuesday aimed at halting federal funding and support for gender transition procedures for minors.

“Today, it was my great honor to sign an Executive Order banning the chemical castration and medical mutilation of innocent children in the United States of America,” Trump said on TruthSocial.

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Nashville Police Say Former Antioch High School Employee Arrested for Solicitation of Student Was Suspended Weeks Prior to Shooting

Clarence Davis

The Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) said on Monday that it arrested a former employee at Antioch High School, where 17-year-old Solomon Henderson killed one and injured two before taking his own life earlier this month, after the worker was suspended just days prior to the attack, following allegations of repeatedly soliciting a student.

A Monday night press release by MNPD announced that Clarence Davis II, a former Antioch High School assistant basketball coach and campus support staff member, was arrested by the department and charged with 19 counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of contributing to a minor’s delinquency.

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Rep. Diana Harshbarger Confirms Interest in Campaign for Tennessee Governor if Blackburn Does Not Run, Joining U.S. Senate

Rep. Diane Harshbarger

U.S. Representative Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01) on Tuesday confirmed her interest in becoming Tennessee’s next governor, stating that she might consider a gubernatorial campaign if U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) should eventually decide against running to succeed Governor Bill Lee, who cannot seek a third term.

Harshbarger made the remarks during a Tuesday appearance on “The John Fredericks Show,” telling John Fredericks, the publisher of The Virginia Star, The Pennsylvania Star, and The Georgia Star News that she would be honored to be considered by voters for Tennessee’s governor, or among those considered to succeed Blackburn in the Senate.

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Ineffective GOP State Rep. Jody Barrett Defies President Trump’s Support for Tennessee School Choice Bill

State Rep. Jody Barrett

Tennessee State Representative Jody Barrett (R-Dickson) confirmed to The Tennessee Star on Tuesday that he remains opposed to the Education Freedom Act despite the legislation’s recent endorsement by President Donald Trump.

Barrett, who has publicly confirmed his opposition to the universal school choice bill, was asked on Tuesday whether Trump’s support for the legislation put forward by Governor Bill Lee and Republican leadership.

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Trump Says He’ll Use Guantanamo Bay to Detain Illegal Immigrants

The Washington Examiner   President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order instructing the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing a 30,000-bed immigrant detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Trump made the surprise declaration during the signing of the Laken Riley Act at the White House Wednesday afternoon to prepare a migrant facility at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, which was used to detain suspected terrorists during the George W. Bush administration. “Today, I’m also signing an executive order to instruct the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security to begin preparing the 30,000-person migrant facility at Guantanamo Bay. Most people don’t even know about it,” Trump said. READ THE FULL STORY         

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Fed Holds Rates Steady as Inflationary Threats Loom

Axios   The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday after three consecutive cuts since late last year. The Fed is halting rate cuts as inflation looks more persistent, with some officials worried Trump’s economic agenda might further ignite price pressures.  The Fed’s policy statement released on Wednesday hinted that recent indicators have pointed to a bumpy process in bringing inflation down. READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Reporter Tom Pappert: If Tennessee Parents Had a Choice, They ‘Probably Wouldn’t’ Be Sending Their Kids to Failing Institutions Like Antioch High School, Shelby County Schools

Michael Patrick Leahy, Tom Pappert

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said if Tennessee parents had the financial freedom in deciding where to send their children to school, they “probably wouldn’t” be enrolling their children in dysfunctional school districts like Shelby County Schools or failing institutions like Antioch High School in Nashville.

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Todd Bensman: Colombia’s Immediate Caving to Accepting Deportation Flights Sets the Tone for Other Countries’ Compliance with Accepting Back Migrants

Todd Bensman

Todd Bensman, a senior national security fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, said Colombia’s compliance to accept U.S. deportation flights returning Colombian nationals back to the South American country when faced with tariffs and sanctions sets the tone for other countries when it comes to accepting future deportation flights.

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Commentary: New Report Finds Government-Owned Internet Is Part of the Problem, not the Solution

Rural Broadband

Anyone living in modern-day 2025 realizes that access to highspeed internet is vital to everyday life – from online learning to virtual healthcare access to working from home. And, Governor Lee and our legislature have made drastic improvements to expand broadband access. Since the start of 2020, Tennessee has significantly closed the gap between Tennesseans with access to high-speed internet and those without. Today, 95 percent of Tennesseans have access to wired or fixed wireless broadband. That means nearly everyone in our state has the option of high-speed internet in their home or business, except for a remote few in mostly rural areas.

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Commentary: One Way to Pay Off Trump’s Tax Cuts That’s Flying Under The Radar

Donald Trump

The federal government owns multiple trillions of dollars of federal assets — from land, to buildings, to patent rights, to mineral rights, to immigrant visas, to oil fields to trucks and trains and unused office furniture equipment.

The government could earn well more than $1 trillion and perhaps as much as $10 trillion by selling off these assets that are simply hoarded (figuratively) in the dark and dusty basement of government buildings. These assets could then generate added annual tax receipts once they are utilized for productive purposes.

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John Reid Becomes Third Republican in Virginia Race for Lieutenant Governor as Winsome Earle-Sears Seeks Executive Mansion

John Reid

The third Republican to enter the primary contest to become Virginia’s next lieutenant governor is John Reid, a former radio host based in Richmond who entered the race Monday as conservatives seek a new candidate to replace Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears, who appears likely to become the party’s nominee for governor.

Formerly a morning host for WRVA, and the son of longtime Virginia lawmaker John “Jack” Reid Sr., the newly-minted candidate announced his campaign in a press release posted to social media, with Reid pledging to follow the example set by Governor Glenn Youngkin.

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Trump Rocks Latin America as Leaders Adjust to Deportations, Tariff Threats

illegal immigrants

Latin American leaders are scrambling to react to President Donald Trump’s aggressive foreign policy after he successfully forced Colombian President Gustavo Petro to back down on resisting the deportation of Colombian illegal immigrants back to their home country.

After Petro’s short-lived feud with Trump, Latin American leaders are scheduled to meet Thursday to discuss how they will deal with Trump’s aggressive foreign policy.

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Daily ICE Arrests Under Trump Already Surpassing Biden-Era Numbers

ICE arrest

Deportation officers made nearly 1,000 arrests across the country Sunday, marking the largest number of single-day arrests only six days into the Trump administration and far surpassing the Biden administration average.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents made 956 arrests, according to an announcement from the agency. This figure has already outpaced the average daily ICE apprehension rate of the Biden administration in fiscal year 2024, which stood at roughly 310 daily arrests, according to figures previously released by the agency.

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