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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Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano Says GOP Needs to ‘Stop Sabotaging’ Each Other, ‘Come Together’ to Elect Donald Trump in November

Doug Mastriano

Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano (R-Franklin County) said that establishment Republicans need to come together during this election cycle to support and elect grassroots candidates and former President Donald Trump to office.

Mastriano, who recently detailed his personal experience of betrayal by establishment Republican organizations during his 2022 gubernatorial campaign, said “it’s going to take a lot of effort, energy, and unity” to elect strong Republicans into office this November—especially in the toss up state of Pennsylvania.

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Sports Journalist Jason Whitlock to Host Annual Men’s Summit Next Month at Rocketown in Nashville

Jason Whitlock

Jason Whitlock, sports journalist and host of the Fearless with Jason Whitlock show, is set to hold a men’s summit at Rocketown in Nashville next month.

The summit, Fearless Army Roll Call 2.0, is a “gathering, celebration, and encouragement of men to put on the full armor of God to take a stand against the evil forces destroying American culture,” according to the event’s website.

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Exclusive: Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Calls the Biden Administration’s Overhaul of Title IX ‘Extreme’

Skrmetti MPL Show

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti said the Biden administration’s finalized rule to rewrite Title IX is “extreme,” noting how the administration’s determination to rewrite anti-discrimination rules to encompass gender identity issues appears to be one of its “highest priorities.”

On Tuesday, Skrmetti led six states in suing the Biden administration’s Department of Education on Tuesday over its finalized rule to rewrite Title IX to encompass gender identity and sexual orientation.

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Bipartisan Opposition: Governors from 48 States, 5 Territories Reject Biden’s Plan to Take Over National Guard

The governors of 48 U.S. states and five territories have sent a letter to Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing a “strong opposition” to the Department of Defense’s (DOD) proposed legislation to the Senate Armed Services Committee that would permanently federalize portions of the state Air National Guard troops into the U.S. Space Force.

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Vice President Kamala Harris Condemns Tennessee State Lawmakers for Passing Bill to Arm Trained Teachers

Kamala Harris

Vice President Kamala Harris called lawmakers in the Tennessee General Assembly “extremists” for voting to pass a bill that would arm teachers who are licensed, receive annual training, and are approved by police and school officials.

“Arming teachers is not the solution,” Harris said in an X post on Wednesday. “We know what actually works: universal background checks, red flag laws, safe storage, and an assault weapons ban.”

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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti Leads Coalition in Lawsuit Challenging the EEOC’s Abortion Rule

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti pursued legal action against the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Thursday over its new rule regarding workplace abortion accommodations.

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) into law, which protects pregnant workers and their babies by directing that women receive workplace accommodations for “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions.”

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NewsChannel 5’s Phil Williams Responds with Deceptive Distractions When Confronted Over His Journalistic Failures to Get Justin Jones on the Record Over 2020 Claim

Phil Williams Justin Jones

NewsChannel 5’s chief investigative reporter Phil Williams continues to be criticized for his “journalistic failures” as he dodged an opportunity to confront State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) on his alleged coverup of a 2020 assault of two protesters by a homeless man.

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Shelby County Sheriff Makes Plea to Parents as Youth Justice and Education Center Nears Capacity

Floyd Bonner

Shelby County Sheriff Floyd Bonner Jr. is pleading with parents to provide their children with guidance and involvement as the Youth Justice and Education Center nears capacity.

The Youth Justice and Education Center is a 146-bed, single-occupancy secure detention center designed for youth “identified to be a danger to themselves, a danger to the community, or a flight risk.”

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Roger Simon on Pro-Hamas, Anti-Israel Protests on College Campuses: ‘What Happened in Germany in 1937’ Is ‘What We’re Undergoing Now’

Roger Simon, the co-founder of PJMedia and current columnist for The Epoch Times, said the pro-Hamas protests unfolding on Ivy League college campuses across the nation are comparable to the scene in Germany in 1937.

Simon made the comments on Tuesday’s episode of The Michael Patrick Leahy Show after listening to audio of a clip taken from Columbia University where pro-Palestine protesters formed a human chain to keep Jewish students out of an encampment on the university’s campus.

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