The State Department said Tuesday it is “taking action” against dozens of entities and individuals behind Iran’s covert financial network, thereby cutting off billions of dollars to the Iranian regime.
The actions are part of the United States’ maximum pressure campaign against Iran in the midst of the conflict in the Middle East. The U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran in February, which killed multiple Iranian leaders.
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The Rutherford County Board of Education became the first district in Tennessee to approve the display of the Ten Commandments last week, when it unanimously adopted a motion following the recent successful efforts in Texas and other nearby states.
“I’d like to make a motion that we put the Ten Commandments back in our schools,” said board member Butch Vaughn during the members’ Thursday meeting. “I noticed in the State of Texas, they’ve approved it. A lot of states around us are approving that, and I think now is the time, because that’s what our whole country was based on.”
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The Biden administration threw its weight and reportedly more than $12 billion in taxpayer money behind Pfizer’s Paxlovid despite the COVID-19 antiviral’s penchant for rebound infections – including in the First Couple and then-directors of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
A long-awaited study published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests the nirmatrelvir-ritonavir combination marketed as Paxlovid, with nearly 24 million courses federally purchased at $530 each, is no better at protecting vaccinated adults at elevated risk than it is at mitigating so-called long COVID, as Pfizer’s own research found two years ago.
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Acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche praised Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti after the Tennessee Court of Appeals handed down a ruling clearing the way for the continued deployment of the National Guard assisting with efforts under the Memphis Safe Task Force.
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The Virginia Supreme Court on Tuesday denied a motion from state Attorney General Jay Jones to lift a stay on the certification of the state’s redistricting referendum result.
The decision follows a Tazewell County Circuit court blocking certification while legal challenges to the referendum persist. The referendum faces multiple challenges and a separate court blocked a GOP-driven challenge earlier this week.
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CBS News King Charles addressed Congress in a roughly 30-minute speech, speaking about the “truly unique” relationship between the U.K. and the U.S., and stressing the importance of the alliance. He received a standing ovation when he said “executive power is subject to checks and balances.” Charles’ address to lawmakers is only the second time in history a British monarch has delivered a speech to Congress. His mother, Queen Elizabeth II, became the first to do so in 1991. Charles and Queen Camilla were greeted at the White House with a formal state arrival ceremony, complete with a military flyover and cannon salute. President Trump cast the visit in both personal and historical terms, noting his mother’s Scottish ancestry and the long relationship between the U.S. and U.K. There will be a state dinner Tuesday night at the White House. READ THE FULL STORY
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Breitbart The United Arab Emirates (UAE) announced on Tuesday that its 59 years of membership in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) will come to an end, effective May 1. The split was not a surprise, given the growing political and economic rifts between the Emirates and other OPEC members, especially Iran and Saudi Arabia. The UAE also withdrew from OPEC+, the expanded coalition formed in 2016 to induct ten major non-member oil producers — notably including Russia, which by that point had become the world’s third-largest oil producer. READ THE FULL STORY
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The Hill A recent survey by Gallup found that 55 percent of respondents view their personal financial situation as getting worse, a new high dating back to 2001. The polling, released Tuesday, was conducted from April 1-15 for the firm’s annual Economy and Personal Finance survey. It asked respondents questions on their personal financial situations, the most important financial problems they face and how price increases are impacting them, among other queries. The percentage of those who said their personal financial situation is getting worse is higher than the previous high of 53 percent, set last April. The prior high mark was 50 percent, which was set twice — during the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2020 and amid high inflation in April 2023. READ THE FULL STORY
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Brown-Forman, the Kentucky-based company that has owned Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey since 1956, is reportedly leaning toward a deal to merge with the French company, Pernod Ricard, over a competing offer from Sazerac, another Kentucky spirits manufacturer that also intends to compete directly with the Jack Daniel’s line of products.
Citing a source familiar with the thought process of Brown-Forman executives, Bloomberg reported on April 20 that the family which controls the company is currently leaning toward accepting the merger off from Pernod for a number of reasons. These include Pernod’s ability to help Jack Daniel’s enter more international markets, the inclusion of an ownership stake in the company for the family following the merger, and the French company’s more prestigious position in the industry.
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The Tennessee Star’s CEO and editor-in-chief, Michael Patrick Leahy, and lead reporter, Tom Pappert, argued renaming U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to the National Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or “NICE,” could offer Republicans a significant messaging advantage.
Speaking during Tuesday’s edition of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show, Leahy and Pappert framed the proposal, which was recently endorsed by President Donald Trump, as both politically strategic and easier to implement than many assume.
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Dr. David M. Morens, a former top adviser to Dr. Anthony Fauci, was arrested and charged Tuesday with conspiracy and destruction of federal records in one of the first cases to allege a cover-up in the COVID-19 pandemic.
The charges – brought by the FBI, Justice Department and the U.S. Health and Human Services inspector general – allege the former senior scientific adviser at the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which Fauci led for 38 years, committed conspiracy against the United States; destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in federal investigations; concealment, removal or mutilation of records; and aiding and abetting.
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A federal grand jury in North Carolina on Tuesday indicted former FBI Director James Comey on charges related to his posting of a photo of shells on a beach with the inscription “86-47” that prosecutors alleged was a threat to President Donald Trump.
The charges will be unveiled at a DOJ news conference at 4 p.m. ET, officials said.
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Federal Bureau of Investigation officers reportedly raided over 20 childcare facilities in Minneapolis on Tuesday.
The raid is being reported by Fox News and CBS News, based on information from sources.
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The Tennessee Court of Appeals on Tuesday reversed a lower court’s temporary injunction blocking Governor Bill Lee from deploying the Tennessee National Guard in Memphis to assist with the Memphis Safe Task Force.
In its ruling, a three-judge panel found that all of the seven plaintiffs – including Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris as well as several state and local lawmakers – lacked legal standing to bring the case.
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Rep. Daniel Webster, R-Fla., on Tuesday announced that he would not seek reelection to Congress in 2026.
“After much prayerful consideration and discussion with my beloved wife Sandy, I have decided not to seek re-election to the United States House of Representatives,” he posted on X.
“To have been part of the development and passage of some most significant legislation in our time is something I will forever treasure.”
A new congressional bill seeks to help small business owners save taxes by lowering the small tax deduction rate.
Representative. David Kustoff (R-TN-08) introduced the Small Business Tax Cut Act, which would increase the small business deduction rate from 20 percent to 23 percent. The current deduction lets qualified businesses reduced 20% of their income from federal income taxes.
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In the wake of the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump on Saturday, the White House has blamed a culture of political extremism and a “left wing cult of hatred” for driving its adherents to acts of violence.
“The left-wing cult of hatred against the president and all of those who support him and work for him has gotten multiple people hurt and killed and it almost did so again this weekend,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Monday.
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At the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Donald Trump was the target of yet a third assassination attempt—this time in full view of the Washington press corps.
The event was presented as a spirited night with Trump. After 11 years of avoiding the predominantly left-wing media event, he decided to revisit the dinner. He anticipated that he would be the object of ridicule inside the hall—and that he might see possible violence outside it.
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