Day: June 4, 2025

Elon Works to ‘KILL the BILL’ amid Frustrations over Spending

Just the News
Elon musk

Now-departed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) chief Elon Musk on Wednesday has launched an effort to block the “big, beautiful bill” over his frustrations about the level of spending cuts in the legislation.

Musk left government in May after working to eliminate waste, fraud, and abuse in order to help balance the budget. His efforts led to DOGE claiming roughly $175 billion in savings, though the White House has only sent about $9.4 billion in cuts as part of a rescissions package. Musk, for his part, is livid with the efforts of lawmakers to reinforce his moves.

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State Rep. Lee Reeves Says ‘Sheriffs Need to Step Up’ as Just Eight of Tennessee’s 95 Counties Join ICE Program, Even with New State Grants

Tom Pappert
ICE Agents

Tennessee State Representative Lee Reeves (R-Franklin) said on Wednesday that sheriffs “need to step up” as just eight counties in the Volunteer State have entered into 287(g) agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which allows local law enforcement to perform immigration enforcement actions within their jurisdiction that are typically reserved for federal officials. 

Reeves compared county-level participation in the 287(g) program by sheriffs in Florida and Tennessee in a post to the social media platform X, revealing that every sheriff in Florida now assists federal authorities with immigration enforcement, boosted by training from ICE. 

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TBI Arrests Ninth Suspect in Tren de Aragua-Linked Human Trafficking Investigation in Nashville

Tom Pappert
ICE Arrest

Another arrest was reported on Tuesday in the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) case examining an alleged human trafficking ring linked to the Venezuelan prison gang, Tren de Aragua, in Nashville. 

Ramon de Jesus Velasquez-Martinez was arrested on Tuesday as part of the investigation, according to WKRN, which said court documents claim a phone number tied to Velasquez-Martinez was posted on public advertisements for prostitution.

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Trump More Popular than Bush, Obama Were at This Point in Second Terms

Daily Caller News Foundation
Trump, Obama, Bush

President Donald Trump’s approval rating beats that of former Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama at the same point in their respective second terms, according to polling data aggregated by Real Clear Politics (RCP).

As of June 3, 47.5% of those surveyed said they approve of Trump’s job performance, according to RCP, which combines results from multiple national surveys into a single average. In comparison, the approval ratings for Bush and Obama were 45.9% and 47.1%, respectively, as of June 4 of the first year of their second terms in the Oval Office.

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In Major Shift, FBI Spent 1 Million Manpower Hours Catching Illegal Aliens Since Trump Took Office

Just the News
FBI Agents

The swanky Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket communities on the Massachusetts coastline are best known for politicians like Barack Obama who flock there for summer vacation or for the Hollywood elites who filmed iconic movies like Jaws on their beaches.

But over Memorial Day week, a new class of visitors hit the island enclaves – G-men from the FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement who helped round up about 40 suspected illegal aliens, including an MS-13 gang member and a child sex offender.

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DOE Targets Columbia’s Accreditation over Antisemitism Allegations

Admin

Axios   The Department of Education initiated the process to remove Columbia University’s accreditation on Wednesday over its antisemitism allegations. The move represents an escalation on the part of the Trump administration, despite the institution caving to the White House’s demands, which included severely punishing students and alumni engaging in pro-Palestine protests. The Trump administration has pulled some $400 million in funding from the university since March. READ THE FULL STORY               

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Trump’s Tariffs Would Cut Budget Deficits by $2.8 Trillion, CBO Says

Admin

Breitbart   The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that recent U.S. tariff increases will reduce federal deficits by $2.8 trillion over the next decade, primarily through increased customs revenue and lower interest payments on federal debt—more than enough to offset the projected cost of President Donald Trump’s proposed tax cut bill. In a separate analysis, the CBO recently estimated that extending the 2017 tax cuts, as proposed in the administration’s new tax and spending bill, would increase the deficit by roughly $2.4 trillion over the same period. That legislation would reduce federal revenues by $3.67 trillion while cutting spending by $1.25 trillion, resulting in a net increase in the federal deficit. The CBO’s estimate of gains from tariffs strengthens the administration’s case that tariffs can pay for tax relief. In fact, the combination of tax relief and tariffs produces a net reduction in deficits, according to the CBO. READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Federal Judge Halts Deportation of Boulder Firebombing Attack Suspect’s Family

Admin

Washington Examiner   A federal judge on Wednesday blocked the deportation of the wife and five children of an Egyptian man accused of a firebombing attack in Boulder, Colorado, on Sunday. U.S. District Judge Gordon P. Gallagher granted the family’s request to pause deportation proceedings after immigration officials took them into federal custody on Tuesday. “The court finds that deportation without process could work irreparable harm,” Gallagher wrote, “and an order must issue without notice due to the urgency this situation presents.” READ THE FULL STORY                 

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Scope Technologies Corp. Leaders Explain How Company Offers a Solution for ‘Impending Quantum Storm’

Kaitlin Housler
hacker

Sean Prescott, founder, CTO, and director of Scope Technologies Corp., and James Young, CEO of Scope Technologies Corp., spoke exclusively with The Tennessee Star’s CEO and Editor-in-Chief Michael Patrick Leahy about the impending quantum computing “storm” and how Scope Technologies is working to address the emerging threat of quantum computing to cybersecurity.

Scope Technologies Corp. is a leading technology company specializing in quantum security and artificial intelligence (AI). The company is headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia.

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Newly Released Emails Reveal FBI Spent Weeks Ahead of Covenant School Shooting Discussing Catholic Extremism

Tom Pappert
Rosary

Internal government emails released by U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) show individuals at multiple FBI field offices were assisting with the drafting a report identifying opportunities to mitigate the violent threats posted by “radical-traditionalist Catholics” during the weeks preceding the March 27, 2023 attack on the Covenant School in Nashville by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who identified as a transgender man when she claimed the lives of six. 

Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, on Wednesday published internal FBI emails that show the agency in February 2023 was drafting a Strategic Perspective Executive Analytic Report (SPEAR), which was titled, “Interest of Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology Almost Certainly Presents New Mitigation Opportunities.”

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New Tennessee Law Tightens Oversight of Foreign Ownership of Agricultural Land

Zachery Schmidt
Tennessee farmland

A new Tennessee law, effective July 1, will regulate foreigners who purchase agricultural land in the state.

Gov. Bill Lee signed House Bill (HB) 219 in May, which says that “foreign persons” must submit a copy of their Agricultural Foreign Investment Disclosure Act (AFIDA) to the Tennessee Commissioner of Agriculture. State Representative Jay Reedy (R-Erin) introduced this piece of legislation. 

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Trump Administration Cracks Down on the Taxpayer-Funded, Partisan American Bar Association

Rachel Alexander
Lawyers

Fed up with lawfare from the Left, the Trump administration is taking steps to limit the taxpayer-funded partisan activity of the American Bar Association (ABA). The ABA uses grants from the federal government to promote leftist causes. Although the 150,000-member organization is voluntary, it provides biased draft rules and policies for state bars, which those bars usually adopt and impose on attorneys required to be members to practice law.

In March, Reuters reported that White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Harrison Fields said in an email regarding the crackdown, “President Trump represents the people, not a board of snooty, leftist lawyers.”

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Commentary: To See Conservative Education Policies Triumph, Look South

Daily Caller News Foundation
classroom

A recent New York Times article portrayed conservative-led education reform as a political performance — more concerned with fighting “woke” ideology than improving student outcomes. The implication is familiar: that Republican efforts in education are all about culture wars, not classrooms. But this telling misses the bigger picture. Beneath the headlines, some of the most meaningful — and effective — education reforms in America today are being driven by conservative leadership. Just look at Mississippi and Louisiana.

These two deep-red states are not exactly known for boasting about education excellence. In fact, for decades, they have struggled near the bottom of the national rankings. But over the last several years, they’ve become two of the most closely watched examples of what’s possible when policymakers take education seriously — and when they are willing to challenge stale systems and tired assumptions.

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Boulder ‘Terror’ Suspect’s Family in ICE Custody, Pending Deportation

The Center Square
Mohamed Sabry Soliman

The family members of the suspect in Sunday’s Colorado attack have been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials and could be deported as early as Tuesday evening, according to the White House.

The wife and five children of Mohamed Soliman, the suspect in the Boulder attack linked to antisemitism and deemed a terrorist by authorities, are in “ICE custody for expedited removal.”

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