Day: May 7, 2025

Republicans in Tennessee State House Say Wave of ICE Arrests to ‘Demagnetize Tennessee’ from ‘Burdens’ Created by Biden Border Policies

Tom Pappert
ICE arrest

The Tennessee House Republican Caucus on Tuesday said the recent wave of arrests by federal officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which occurred during a joint law enforcement operation on Sunday and Monday, come after state lawmakers have passed legislation aimed at making the Volunteer State a less attractive destination for illegal immigrants.

ICE confirmed the joint operation with Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) had resulted in more than 150 traffic stops as of Monday, and it has since been reported that the stops led to 84 arrests of individuals in the country illegally, with those arrested including a member of the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, a convicted child sex offender, and a number of gang members.

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Alleged Sex Trafficker Arrested in Nashville Area Now Detained by ICE

Tom Pappert
Angel Diaz-Carvajal,

Metro Nashville Police Department (MNPD) on Wednesday announced the arrest of Angel Javier Diaz-Carvajal for running a sex trafficking operation in Antioch, Tennessee, who allegedly made online advertisements for prostitution, and was busted by undercover officers with the department’s Specialized Investigations Division.

Despite initially being given the opportunity to secure pretrial release with a $185,000 bond, records made public by the Davidson County Sheriff’s Office confirm that Diaz-Carvajal is not eligible release due to detainer requested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

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Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Deportation of Illegal Asian Migrants to Libya

Just the News
CBP Flight

A federal judge on Wednesday granted a temporary restraining order that blocks the Trump administration from deporting illegal Asian migrants to the African country of Libya, or any other third world country.

The move comes after lawyers filed an emergency motion earlier in the day, seeking to stop the deportations that were reportedly scheduled for sometime this week. The Trump administration has not formally commented on the plans.

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Battle Lines Drawn in Nashville Over Immigration Enforcement

State News Foundation | Brian Wilson
ICE arrest

Battle lines are being drawn over immigration enforcement in Nashville. It’s shaping up as a fight once again pitting liberals who control the island of blue that is Davidson County versus the sea of red that is Tennessee.

In one corner, Nashville’s liberal Mayor, Freddie O’Connell and members of the democrat-majority City Council expressing outrage that federal immigration laws were being enforced in their city. In the other corner, the Trump Department of Homeland Security, Republican Governor Bill Lee and key players in the republican supermajority General Assembly who were clearly peeved at the tone and tenor of the Mayor’s hastily called Monday press conference.

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Trump Ramps Up Push for U.S. Strikes in Mexico as Drug Cartels Fight Each Other

Just the News
Mexico and America

President Donald Trump has escalated his public calls for military action against the Mexican drug cartels as they face intense infighting and struggle to adapt to his military buildup at the southern border. Though Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has resisted direct American military intervention, Trump has renewed the push as the situation appears ripe for some kind of decisive action.

American troops have not been deployed to Mexico for combat purposes since 1916, in pursuit of Mexican bandit/revolutionary Pancho Villa following his attack on Columbus, New Mexico. Led by Brigadier General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing, the 10,000-strong expeditionary force failed to capture Villa and withdrew in 1917.

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Biden Memo Let Feds Target Americans for ‘Non-Criminal Behavior’ Before Catholics, Parents Probed

Just the News
rosary

The Biden administration authorized federal law enforcement four years ago to target Americans engaged in “concerning non-criminal behavior” in the name of fighting domestic terrorism, with a specific eye on those serving in the military, owning firearms, or spreading what officials considered to be “xenophobic” disinformation, according to newly declassified documents.

The stunning breadth of the mandate was disclosed when Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard recently released a fully unredacted version of the prior administration’s “Strategic Implementation Plan for Countering Domestic Terrorism.”

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Trump Says He’s Directing DOJ to Work on Releasing Tina Peters

The Center Square

President Donald Trump says he’s directing the U.S. Department of Justice “to help secure the release” of former Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters, who’s in a Colorado prison for her role in tampering with election equipment.

Peters, who was the Republican clerk of the western Colorado county during the 2020 election, was found guilty by a grand jury on seven charges related to election integrity, including three counts of attempting to influence a public official. She was sentenced to nine years in prison last October.

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Former Memphis Police Officers Acquitted of All State Charges in Death of Tyre Nichols

Just the News

A Tennessee jury on Wednesday found three former Memphis police officers not guilty of all state charges, including second-degree murder, in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, and Justin Smith were charged with second-degree murder, aggravated assault, aggravated kidnapping, official misconduct and official oppression for the routine traffic stop that ended in Nichols’ 2023 death.

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DOJ, FBI Operation Led to Arrest of over 200 Alleged Child Sex Predators in Just Five Days

Daily Caller News Foundation
DOJ leaders

Federal law enforcement officials arrested over 200 alleged child sex predators in just five days, Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel announced during a press conference Wednesday.

The operation, a collaboration between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and 55 FBI field offices, led to the arrests of 205 alleged perpetrators, who hurt a total of 115 child victims, Bondi said.

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New Revelations in Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case Should Serve as Cautionary Tale for Democrats, Reporter Says

Kaitlin Housler
Tom Pappert and MPL

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, said the case of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the citizen of El Salvador who was deported by the Trump administration earlier this year, should serve as a cautionary tale for the Democratic Party moving forward, given the new developments surrounding Abrego Garcia.

Last month, The Star was the first to report that Abrego Garcia was suspected of being engaged in human trafficking by Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP) officers who detained him during a 2022 traffic stop on I-40 in Putnam County; however, was let go at the time after the Biden-era Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) requested that the state officers release him and the nine other passengers in the vehicle.

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2025 Papal Conclave Begins at Vatican, with Black Smoke Indicating No New Pope Chosen in First Vote

Admin

CBS News   Catholic cardinal electors from six continents gathered Wednesday inside the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican for the 2025 conclave to select a new pope. After the first round of voting, black smoke was seen rising from the Sistine Chapel as night fell in Rome, indicating they have not yet agreed on a choice for the next pontiff.   The conclave began 16 days after the death of 88-year-old Pope Francis, who led the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics for 12 years.  With no one receiving the required two-thirds-plus-one vote in the first round, the cardinals will resume the process on Thursday morning. A signal of white smoke will be sent up the chimney once a new pope is chosen. READ THE FULL STORY               

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Fed Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged, Sees Economy as ‘Solid’

Admin

Breitbart   The Federal Reserve looked past the recently reported economic contraction in the first three months of the year, describing economic growth as solid when officials agreed to hold interest rates steady on Wednesday. “Although swings in net exports have affected the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a sold pace,” officials said in a statement released at the end of the two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed’s monetary policy body. that The economy contracted slightly in the first quarter of the year, the Commerce Department said last week, shrinking at an annual pace of 0.3 percent. But that was largely due to a surge in imports, which are subtractions in the calculation of GDP. Measures of underlying growth, including final sales to U.S. consumers and business investment, suggested the economy continued to grow in the January through March period. READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Trump Rejects Any Pullback on 145 Percent China Tariffs

Admin

Axios   President Trump on Wednesday said he would not pull back on 145% tariffs against China to get them to the negotiating table for a trade deal. Trump’s comments may dent the market’s optimism that Saturday’s planned talks in Switzerland could lead to a de-escalation of the trade war that has roiled the global economy. Trump, taking questions in the Oval Office Wednesday, was asked if he’d give ground on the Chinese levies for the sake of talks. READ THE FULL STORY               

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Top House Committees Sound Alarm on Suspected Chinese Spy Bases Just 90 Miles Off U.S. Coast

Daily Caller News Foundation
Havanna

Two House committees called on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Tuesday to provide a classified briefing addressing the threat of multiple suspected Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy installations throughout Cuba, according to a letter exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The letter, sent by the House Homeland Security Committee and House Select Committee on the CCP to DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, requests a formal threat assessment from the department regarding at least four signals intelligence (SIGINT) installations in Cuba the Chinese government “is establishing, or has already established.” The suspected Chinese spy installations are as close as 90 miles off the U.S. coast, the letter warns, positioning them to intercept sensitive intelligence from Kennedy Space Center, Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, which sits just 70 miles from one of the sites in question.

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Commentary: A Warning to Nations Pursuing Blind Sustainability

RealClearWire
Solar panels

As the world increasingly shifts toward renewable energy, there is a growing risk that nations could fall into the “renewable energy trap.” This trap is the result of embracing an energy transition without fully understanding its economic, environmental, and geopolitical consequences. While renewable energy sources like wind, solar, and hydropower have been hailed as the future of global energy, nations rushing toward these technologies without a strategic plan may face grave economic and security challenges. The truth is that blind adherence to renewable energy, in its current form at least, is not the panacea many believe it to be. In fact, it could prove to be a short, green path to economic ruin for both developed and developing nations alike.

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DOJ Charges 287 with Immigration Related Crimes in Arizona During 10 Days

Rachel Alexander
ICE arrest

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona announced on Friday in a press release that immigration related criminal charges against 287 defendants were brought within 10 days, April 26 through May 5. Part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on illegal immigration, known as Operation Take Back America (OTBA), the charges were for entering the country illegally, reentering the country illegally, and human smuggling. 

The office has been steadily bringing illegal immigration related charges against defendants since OTBA launched in March. Some of the previous weeks have surpassed the average weekly numbers during the Biden administration last year. Between April 12-18, the office brought 329 charges, far more than the weekly average under President Joe Biden last year of 250 charges per week. 

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