Day: May 29, 2025

Commentary: TVA Is Failing Tennesseans – It’s Time for Oversight and Reform

Star News Contributor
TVA employee monitoring equipment

For decades, the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) operated with the noble promise of bringing affordable, reliable energy to the people of Tennessee. While covering all of Tennessee, it also serves a larger seven state region including portions of Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina and Virginia. However, today it’s clear that TVA – a federal entity – has drifted far from its original mission. What was once a respected public utility has become an unaccountable bureaucracy – plagued by mismanagement, bloated salaries and misplaced priorities – including a focus on green energy and woke policies like fully embracing far-left ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) initiatives and net-zero.

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SCOTUS Unanimously Limits Judicial Authority to Block Infrastructure Projects over ‘Environmental Concerns’

Just the News
SCOTUS

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, in a unanimous decision, limited the judicial authority of courts to block infrastructure projects over environmental concerns.

The case, Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, relates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the requirement that infrastructure projects supported by the federal government have environmental impact statements, Fox News reported.

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Comptroller Questions Quarter of a Million Dollars in Credit Card Purchases Made by Nonprofit

The Center Square

The Tennessee Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury said an organization that provides services to children and families in four counties “failed to retain supporting documentation justifying at least $250,453.33 in questionable credit card charges.”

The Davis House Child Advocacy Center received about 33% of its $5.3 million in funding from government sources during the investigative period, according to the report released Thursday. The audit examined records from January 2020 to August 2024 and looked at two credit cards.

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Aide to Tennessee Lt. Gov Starred in O’Connell Campaign Ad 8 Times as McNally Stays Silent on Mayor’s Immigration Clash

Tom Pappert
Adam Kleinheider

As Tennessee Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally has yet to comment on the immigration clash between Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell and U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), who has accused the mayor of aiding and abetting illegal immigrants, The Tennessee Star can report that an aide to McNally appeared in a campaign advertisement for O’Connell a total of eight times.

Still working in McNally’s office today, Adam Kleinheider was appointed the communications director for McNally’s office in 2017, when The Wilson Post noted he previously “ran well-respected political websites for Nashville media outlets WKRN-TV and NashvillePost.com,” before serving as the communications director former Lieutenant Governor Ron Ramsey. 

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Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell Silent After Metro Accused of Leaking Names of DHS Officials

Tom Pappert
Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell did not respond to multiple press inquiries from The Tennessee Star after Metro Nashville was accused of publicly leaking the names of U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Homeland Security Investigations officials who participated in the recent immigration enforcement operation that resulted in nearly 200 arrests of illegal immigrants. 

O’Connell was accused of leaking the names on Wednesday by U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05), who noted that Metro Nashville published names of DHS and HSI officials to a Nashville data portal affiliated with the Metro Office of New Americans. 

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Murky Funding Details for Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s Office of New and Indigenous Americans

State News Foundation | Brian Wilson
Freddie O'Connell

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell, facing questions over his handling of illegal immigration, thrust an advisory council of local liberal activists into a heated clash with federal and state officials. The move is drawing scrutiny from a Republican-controlled Congress, the Trump Justice Department, and Border Czar Tom Homan over immigration enforcement policies.

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Commentary: Overreaching Federal Judges Undermine Trump’s Trade Powers in Dangerous Ruling

The Daily Torch
President Donald Trump

The U.S. Court for International Trade on Wednesday struck down President Donald Trump’s national trade emergency, the reciprocal tariffs he put into effect on April 2 and other tariffs in 2025 including those seeking foreign assist to repel the fentanyl trade, throwing the subsequent tariff negotiations with the United Kingdom, China, India, Japan, South Korea and so forth into chaos.

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FBI Assessed Fusion GPS Contractor Likely Lied to Congress About Role in Trump-Russia Probe

Just the News

A newly declassified FBI document released by Iowa GOP Senator Chuck Grassley shows that the FBI found the Fusion GPS contractor Nellie Ohr likely lied to Congress about her contribution to the Crossfire Hurricane probe into Donald Trump but was never held accountable by the Justice Department. 

The memo, which was declassified by FBI Director Kash Patel after a request from Grassley, shows the bureau assessed that Nellie Ohr likely lied to Congress in her testimony about the genesis of the infamous Steele Dossier, her interactions with Justice Department officials, and knowledge of the Crossfire Hurricane investigation. 

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Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee Announces Primary Challenge to Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne

Rachel Alexander
Kimberly Yee

Arizona State Treasurer Kimberly Yee, who is term-limited, announced on Wednesday that she is running for Superintendent of Public Instruction, challenging incumbent Tom Horne in the Republican primary. Horne, long considered a moderate Republican, recently angered Republicans with his efforts gutting the state’s nationally renowned Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs) program. 

Yee said in her announcement, 

For nearly 30 years, I’ve fought for Arizona families and children, delivering real results. As an education policy expert, I helped write the laws in the 1990s that made Arizona the nation’s leader in school choice. As a former Chair of the Senate Education Committee, I fought to protect children from woke ideology and the kind of big government overreach we’re seeing from the current State Superintendent. As Treasurer, I delivered billions in historic new funding for Arizona classrooms. And as a mom, I have fought tirelessly to protect parents’ rights to ensure every child is able to have the best educational opportunities, no matter what their zip code. Our state’s children and their families are too important to be left paying the price for petty political games and empty campaign promises. 

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Commentary: America’s Education Continues to Decline

American Greatness
Teacher and students

On May 15, the Manhattan Institute published a brief on the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Also known as the Nation’s Report Card, it is the gold standard assessment for measuring American students’ proficiency in various subjects. As a former middle school testing coordinator, I helped administer the exam once and saw the test delivered with the utmost professionalism. Students are randomly selected without cherry-picking, and the test is handled with great attention to detail.

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