Ben Cunningham Says Nashville’s Proposed Transit Plan Is an ‘Absolute Ripoff of the Taxpayer’

Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said the Nashville Mayor’s $3.1 billion transit referendum is a “ripoff” of the taxpayers who are not given a proper voice in the media to express opposition to the transportation plan.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell unveiled his $3.1 billion transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month.

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Legal Counsel for Sponsors of Israel Summit Raises Questions on Sonesta Hotel’s Reasoning to Cancel Event

Sonesta Nashville Airport

First Liberty Institute, the legal counsel for the organizing groups of the 2024 Israel Summit, raised questions to the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel’s reasoning behind its decision to break its contractual obligation to host the event next week.

The Israel Summit was expected to be hosted next week at the Sonesta Hotel until hotel leadership contacted one of the summit’s sponsors, notifying the group that it was dropping its contract to host the event, citing “threatening” calls and messages.

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Reporter Tom Pappert Discusses Latest Developments in Case Involving Transgender Arrested on Stalking Charges

McKenzie McClure

Tom Pappert, lead reporter at The Tennessee Star, pointed out that McKenzie McClure, the biological female and former Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) student arrested by federal authorities on cyberstalking charges, may have been subject to a 30-day mental hold as she awaits a detention hearing scheduled for June 3.

McClure, who identifies as a transgender man and prefers the name “Kalvin,” was arrested on cyberstalking charges on April 29 after making a public threat against Governor Bill Lee and leaving a concerning voicemail to CPA in March, which caused two schools to shut down the following day.

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Ramsey Event Center in Franklin to Host Israel Summit

Ramsey Event Center

The Ramsey Event Center in Franklin will hold the 2024 Israel Summit next week after the event’s original venue, the Sonesta Nashville Airport Hotel, broke its contractual obligation to host the summit.

“God is doing amazing things in Tennessee, and we are even more excited about the upcoming Israel Summit,” two of the summit’s sponsors, HaYovel and The Israel Guys, announced Tuesday. “Dave Ramsey stepped in TODAY and offered his state-of-the-art event center for the Israel Summit!”

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Executive Assistant U.S. Attorney Confirms Transgender Arrested for Alleged Cyberstalking Will Remain in Custody Leading up to June 3 Hearing

US Atty Mark H. Wildasin, McKenzie McClure

An executive assistant attorney with the Middle District of Tennessee U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed to The Tennessee Star that McKenzie McClure, the biological female and former Christ Presbyterian Academy (CPA) student arrested by federal authorities on cyberstalking charges, will remain in custody leading up to a June 3 detention hearing.

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Tennessee Court of Appeals Rules That State Statute Allowing TWRA Game Wardens to Enter Private Property Without a Search Warrant Is Unconstitutional

TWRA Worker

The Tennessee Court of Appeals released a decision in Terry Rainwaters, et al. v. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, et al. on Thursday, holding a previous ruling that found a state statute that allows TWRA to patrol private properties without warrants or consent to be unconstitutional.

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State Senator Brent Taylor Says Memphis Will Be ‘Hollowed Out’ If Crime is Not Addressed

Brent Taylor

State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) warned that Memphis will be ‘hollowed out’ if its crime problem is not addressed.

Taylor, who sponsored several crime-related bills in the recently-adjourned legislative session of the General Assembly, said the response he has received from the community in Memphis for his work to crackdown on crime has been positive.

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TN-18 State Senate GOP Primary Challenger Chris Spencer Refuses to Answer If He’d Vote for Governor’s School Choice Bill If Elected

Chris Spencer

Chris Spencer, a Republican candidate challenging incumbent Tennessee State Senator Ferrell Haile (R-Gallatin) in the August 1 TN-18 GOP primary, refused to answer whether he’d vote for or against Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill during the next legislative session of the General Assembly if elected.

The governor’s school choice bill, called the Education Freedom Scholarship Act, failed to pass the General Assembly during the most recently convened session of the General Assembly.

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Report: Late Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny’s Death Ruled Accidental, Caused by Drug Overdose

Judd Matheny

The late Coffee County Mayor Judd Matheny’s April 2 death was caused by drugs present in his system, compounded by heart conditions, according to an autopsy report conducted by the Center for Forensic Medicine in Nashville.

The report, first obtained by The Tullahoma News, concluded that Matheny’s death was accidental, with the cause of death “ascribed to mixed cocaine, ethanol, mitragynine toxicity with hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease as a significant contributing factor.”

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Tennessee Republican Delegation Members Vote to Advance Bill Requiring Citizenship Question on the U.S. Census

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

All eight Republicans representing Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives voted with the majority of members to pass a bill requiring the U.S. Census to include a question asking if the person is a United States citizen.

The Census determines how many congressional districts and electoral college votes each state gets to help ensure American votes are equally represented in Congress.

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Tennessee AG Skrmetti Leads Coalition of States in Pushing Back on New Department of Energy Rule Targeting Household Refrigerators, Freezers

Jonathan Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti led a coalition of 17 state attorneys general in a comment letter opposing the Department of Energy’s direct final rule regulating consumer refrigerators, refrigerator-freezers, and freezers.

The DOE’s rule, scheduled to be implemented on May 16, imposes new energy conservation standards for these consumer items.

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Tennessee GOP Chairman Confident in Security Measures Taken for Republican National Convention in Milwaukee

Tennessee Republican Party Chairman Scott Golden said he is confident in the security measures being taken for attendees of the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee.

Milwaukee will host the Republican National Convention from July 15-18, during which tens of thousands of delegates, guests, and press members will gather to officially nominate Donald Trump for president and his yet-to-be-announced running mate for vice president.

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Federal Court Case in Ohio Could Reverse SCOTUS Precedent That Expanded Commerce Clause

Brewing

Michael Patrick Leahy, CEO and editor-in-chief of The Tennessee Star, said he believes an Ohio court case, Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury, may succeed in rolling back federal overreach regarding Congress’ power to regulate interstate commerce under the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause.

The Buckeye Institute, an Ohio think tank, filed Ream v. U.S. Department of Treasury in January on behalf of John Ream of Licking County, Ohio.

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Nashville’s Legally Dubious $3.1 Billion Transportation Plan Sparks Debate over Future Tax Burden

Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, said not only does Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s $3.1 billion transit referendum, which is expected to be presented to Davidson County voters on the November ballot, appear illegal under the 2017 IMPROVE Act, but its implementation would inevitably raise property taxes for residents.

O’Connell unveiled his transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month.

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Legal Battle Brews over Nashville Mayor’s $3.1 Billion Transportation Plan

Freddie O'Connell

Ben Cunningham, founder of the Nashville Tea Party, continues to scrutinize the legality of the Nashville mayor’s $3.1 billion transit referendum expected to be presented in front of Davidson County voters on the November ballot.

Mayor Freddie O’Connell unveiled his $3.1 billion transit plan, “Choose How You Move: An All-Access Pass to Sidewalks, Signals, Service, and Safety,” last month. The plan would be funded through a half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax to construct miles of new sidewalks, bus stops, transit centers, parking facilities, and upgraded traffic signals.

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Memphis Man Released on Bail Hunts Down, Shoots Witness from Trial

Tavious Wilson

A Memphis man out on bond for his alleged involvement in a shooting earlier this year is behind bars once again after being accused of hunting down and shooting a witness who testified at trial for the earlier shooting case.

On Monday, ABC24 News reported that it had obtained an affidavit from Shelby County court records showing that officers with the Memphis Police Department (MPD) responded to an aggravated assault on May 2 in the area of James Road and Raleigh-Millington Road.

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Carol Swain Raising Funds Towards Lawsuit Against Harvard University amid Plagiarism Battle

Carol Swain

Dr. Carol M. Swain is actively raising money to file a federal lawsuit against Harvard University to hold the institution “accountable” for its former President Claudine Gay’s alleged plagiarism of multiple academic scholars’ work, including that of Swain’s.

In December 2023, writer and political activist Christopher Rufo accused Gay of plagiarizing “multiple sections” of her Ph.D. thesis from 1997.

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Tennessee U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett Requests ‘Full Investigation’ into the CIA Based on Claims Made in Undercover Video

Tim Burchett CIA

Tennessee U.S. Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN-02) sent letters to the chairmans of the House Judiciary Committee and House Oversight Committee on Thursday requesting that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) be investigated after an employee of the CIA’s Cyber Operations Division made bombshell accusations about the intel agency when it comes to its covert relationship with former President Donald Trump – both during and after his presidency.

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Congressman Andy Ogles Among House Republicans Seeking to Prevent the Resettling of Palestinians into the U.S.

Andy Ogles

Tennessee U.S. Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) is among a group of House Republicans requesting that a provision be included in the Fiscal Year 2025 spending bill to prohibit Palestinian refugees from being imported and resettled into U.S. communities.

Ogles, along with U.S. Representatives Tom Tiffany (R-WI-07) and Scott Perry (R-PA-10), are specifically seeking a provision in the funding bill that “prohibits expenditures of any funds to issue a visa or grant parole to any alien holding a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.”

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Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee Urges Nashville Mayor to Cut City Budget, Protect Residents from Property Tax Hikes Amid $3.1 Billion Transit Plan

Freddie O'Connell

Americans for Prosperity – Tennessee (AFP-TN) released a statement Thursday in response to Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s proposed $3.1 billion transit referendum that will be presented to Davidson County voters on the November ballot.

AFP-TN State Director Tori Venable, noting how Nashville voters rejected then-Mayor Megan Barry’s $9 billion transit plan six years ago, acknowledged the dramatic cost difference in O’Connell’s plan while also pointing out the half-cent increase in the city’s sales tax that will be used to fund the plan.

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Knoxville Police Department Releases Body Cam Footage of Officer Shooting Suspect Armed with Two Knives

Police Knife Video

The Knoxville Police Department (KPD) released the body cam footage of an officer who shot a man armed with two knives outside the Exxon gas station at 5306 N. Broadway last month.

On April 17, just before 5:30 p.m., Officer Seth Beeler arrived at the Exxon on a report that a man, who has since been identified as William Charles McBride Jr., was “acting erratically and potentially violently inside of the store,” according to KPD.

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Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs Most Proud of Not Raising Taxes During His Tenure, Says ‘We Have to Make Sure Our People Are Being Taken Care Of’

Glenn Jacobs

Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs said the accomplishment he’s most proud of since assuming office in 2018 is his and his team’s work to avoid raising taxes for county residents.

Jacobs said that while it is becoming “more difficult” to construct a budget amid economic challenges resulting from decisions made at the federal level, his administration is “doing everything that we can to be creative and think outside the box” to avoid raising taxes.

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America First Legal’s Gene Hamilton: We’ve Launched a New Program That Helps Train the Next Generation of Conservative Lawyers

Gene Hamilton

Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of America First Legal (AFL), explained why the Next Generation (NextGen) Fellowship Program through AFL is a critical tool for young conservative lawyers who seek to “advance the conservative movement in a way we haven’t seen before.”

The mission of AFL’s NextGen Fellowship Program, according to the organization’s website, is to “train and build a bench of lawyers equipped with the legal skills needed to save our nation and to effectively push forward an America First agenda in government, including in future conservative presidential administrations.”

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Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia Join Lawsuit Against the NCAA’s NIL Recruitment Ban Led by Tennessee AG Jonathan Skrmetti

The attorneys general of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia have joined Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti and Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares’ lawsuit challenging the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) name, image, and likeness (NIL) recruitment ban.

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Kentucky Man Who Operated Boat that Collided and Killed a Tennessee Child Sentenced to Eight Years in Jail

Norman Sturgill

A man who pled guilty to vehicular homicide by intoxication and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon in connection with a boating collision on Norris Lake last year that resulted in the death of a child has been sentenced to eight years in prison, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA).

On the evening of July 22, 2023, Norman Sturgill, 62, of Grayson, Kentucky, was operating a 19-foot Triton bass boat that collided with a 24-foot Chaparral open motorboat in front of Norris Landing Marina.

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