Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones Announces Bill Banning Ranked Choice Voting

Jones Robertson

Georgia Lieutenant Gov. Burt Jones (R) and State Senator Randy Robertson (R-Cataula) introduced SB 355 on Tuesday to ban ranked choice voting in the state.

Jones said in a statement that ranked choice voting “is designed to cause confusion and fatigue among voters.” Allegedly “pushed by dark money groups,” Jones added it “could cause a drastic increase in the number of ballots being thrown out, disenfranchising Georgia voters.”

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Trump Campaign Warns Rep. Bob Good ‘Won’t Be Electable’ After DeSantis Endorsement

Bob Good

A campaign manager for former President Donald Trump warned Representative Bob Good (VA-05) “won’t be electable” after the Virginia Republican broke with Trump and endorsed Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in the 2024 GOP presidential primary.

Chris LaCivita, who advised the former president’s campaign before his recent promotion to co-campaign manager, told Cardinal News on Wednesday, “Bob Good won’t be electable when we get done with him.”

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Grassroots Conservative Group EZAZ Plans Eight-Stop Tour to Register Arizona Voters Featuring Activist Scott Presler

Scott Presler

Conservative grassroots organization EZAZ’s Merissa Hamilton announced on Tuesday an eight-stop tour to register Arizonans for the 2024 election featuring voter registration activist Scott Presler from January 23 through January 25. Presler told The Arizona Sun Times he is “excited” to return to Arizona, which he called a “must-win” for Republicans in November.

Hamilton shared news about the event to X, formerly Twitter, and included details about events in Phoenix, Sun City, Tempe, Maricopa, Tucson, Payson, Prescott Value, and Lake Havasu City.

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Tennessee Valley Authority Requests ‘Voluntary Curtailment’ to ‘Reduce Electric Consumption’ but Predicts No Blackouts

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) on Tuesday began asking utility companies to request their customers voluntarily curtail their power usage in an effort to “reduce electric consumption” as frigid weather slows much of the country, but the federally owned power company recently told Tennessee media outlets it does not expect rolling blackouts to occur because of winter weather in 2024.

Energy companies in Alabama and Kentucky have confirmed the TVA is requesting their customers decrease their energy use, with Huntsville Utilities in Alabama explained in a news release that “dangerously low temperatures” and “the expected high electric demand” prompted TVA to request “voluntary curtailment across their entire system.”

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YoungkinWatch: Governor Says 2023 Revenues Met Expectations After Forecasting Recession in New Budget

Glenn Youngkin

Governor Glenn Youngkin said in a Monday statement that Virginia revenues met his office’s expectation during the first half of the 2023 fiscal year. The governor’s confirmation comes as he seeks to pass his new budget, which forecasts a “mild recession” in the next two years.

Youngkin’s office confirmed in its press release that “general fund revenues for December 2023 remain in line with updated revisions to the official revenue forecast,” and state revenues grew by 0.2 percent and 7.1 percent over the course of the year.

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Trump Leads Biden by 8 Points in First Georgia Poll Released Since Fani Willis Allegations

Trump Biden

Former President Donald Trump has a commanding lead over President Joe Biden in Georgia, according to the results of the first poll of Peach State voters since it was alleged that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is romantically entangled with Nathan Wade, who she appointed to prosecute her case against Trump.

The Tuesday Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll was conducted between January 3 and January 11, while the legal filing containing allegations Trump and Wade are in a romantic relationship became public on January 8. Pollsters contacted 1,007 registered voters in Georgia to gather their data, which they reported had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percent.

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Anti-Sinema PAC Releases Ad Bashing Senator One Day After Kari Lake Ad Calls Gallego, Sinema Biden’s ‘Enablers’

Replace Sinema PAC

A political action committee that endorses Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) released a new advertisement targeting Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ) on Tuesday, with its release timed one day after Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake released her own commercial labeling Gallego and Sinema as “enablers” of President Joe Biden.

“When Republicans take back the U.S. Senate, we will fix the problems caused by [Biden] and his enablers [Sinema] and [Gallego],” wrote Lake in a Monday post to X, formerly Twitter, containing her campaign’s new ad.

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Arizona State Sen. Jake Hoffman Pitches Bill to Ban Arizona from Contracting With Companies That Push DEI

Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) filed a bill last Monday to prohibit Arizona from establishing large contracts with private sector entities that require Diversity, Equity and Inclusiveness (DEI) training for their employees.

Hoffman’s SB 1005 would prohibit any “public entity” in Arizona “from requiring or spending public monies on a diversity, equity and inclusion program and allows an employee who is required to participate in the program to bring an action against the public entity,” and government bodies “from entering into a contract with a company that participates in a DEI program,” according to a fact sheet for the bill.

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Tennessee Lawmakers Propose Legislation Banning Banks, Credit Card Companies from Tracking Purchases of Guns and Ammo

State Rep. Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill) and State Sen. Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) introduced legislation on Wednesday that would prohibit banks, credit card companies and other financial institutions from tracking purchases of firearms.

Warner filed HB 1784 and Hensley filed SB 1702 to make it “an unfair or deceptive trade practice” for any “financial institution to require a firearms retailer to use firearms-specific transaction codes” after the industry began creating a new credit card merchant category code for purchases of firearms and ammunition, which they claimed would help identify dangerous gun owners or suspicious transactions. 

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Conservative PAC Releases Ad Targeting Rep. Bob Good for Private Remarks About Trump

A conservative political action committee in Virginia released a new ad targeting Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) on Monday, highlighting a video published in December that appeared to show Good repeatedly criticize former President Donald Trump after stating he would not make similar remarks in public.

The narrator for Virginians for Conservative Leadership PAC’s 30-second commercial declared, “For cameras, Bob Good says Trump’s okay,” but called him “two faced” and a “fake” in private, before cutting to the December video.

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Trump ‘Can’t Imagine They Go Forward’ with Georgia Election Case After Fani Willis, Nathan Wade Relationship Allegations

During a Sunday rally in Iowa, former President Donald Trump said he “can’t imagine” the Georgia election case against him moving forward amid the allegations that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is romantically linked with Nathan Wade, who she appointed as special prosecutor and paid more than $650,000 in taxpayer money.

In addition to the accusation Willis is engaged in an inappropriate relationship with Wade, she is also accused of hiring him without following proper procedure and financially benefiting from his compensation through luxurious vacations financed by the special prosecutor. The claims about their alleged relationship surfaced in a legal filing last week by Michael Roman, who is a co-defendant in Willis’ case against the former president.

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Fani Willis Delivers ‘Letter to God’ from Pulpit of Baptist Church on Sunday, Defends Hiring of Nathan Wade and Suggests Critics Motivated by Racism

Embattled Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis delivered what she called a “letter to God” on Sunday at Big Bethel Baptist Church in downtown Atlanta. The speech, which Willis delievered from the Pulpit, represented Willis’ first remarks since she was accused of engaging in an inappropriate romantic relationship with attorney Nathan Wade, who she appointed as a special prosecutor for her case against former President Donald Trump.

Willis did not mention Wade’s name in her speech, but referred to him in remarks that seemed to suggest those questioning Wade’s pay, or the alleged romantic relationship, are committing acts of racism. She and the special prosecutor were accused of being romantically entangled in a legal filing by Michael Roman, who is a defendant in her case against former President Donald Trump.

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Metro Nashville Government Posts Job Listing for ‘DEI Education Trainer’

The Metro Nashville and Davidson County government placed a job listing for a “DEI Education Trainer” on Friday, who will work a “flexible/hybrid” schedule for about $56,000 per year.

Posted on Friday, the job listing indicates the full-time position is for the government’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion division, and the applicant will be “responsible for expanding the current training efforts” of the city’s DEI office “and promoting alignment of Metro’s equity goals.”

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Attorney Says She Has Witnesses Ready to Testify They Saw Alleged Lovebirds Fulton County DA Fani Willis and Subordinate Nathan Wade

Multiple witnesses are reportedly willing to testify to the existence of an inappropriate romantic relationship between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and Nathan Wade, the private defense attorney she hired for her case against former President Donald Trump, the lawyer behind the allegations said Sunday.

The allegation that Wade and Willis are romantically involved originated in a legal filing written by attorney Ashliegh Merchant for Michael Roman which sought to have the case dismissed. The filing alleged Willis hired Wade, who began divorce proceedings immediately after, and benefited financially as Wade earned more than $650,000 working on the case.

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Greater Memphis Chamber Seeks $50 Million to Address Crime, Support for State Senator’s Bail Reform in Letter to Gov. Bill Lee

The Greater Memphis Chamber sent a letter to Governor Bill Lee (R) on Tuesday, requesting money, resources and new legislation to address the record high crime in Memphis. Among the requests include the passage of bills by State Senator Brent Taylor (R-Memphis) to reform Tennessee bail and sentencing practices.

The letter, written by Greater Memphis Chamber President Ted Townsend, appears to have the support of the chamber’s Chairman’s Circle, which includes prominent private sector leaders from more than 80 Memphis businesses.

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Georgia GOP Chair Josh McKoon Wants Trump Case ‘Halted’ over Alleged Relationship Between Fani Willis, Nathan Wade

Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Chair Josh McKoon called on Tuesday for the Fulton County case against former President Donald Trump to be “halted” following the allegation that District Attorney Fani Willis (D), who filed racketeering charges against Trump and his co-defendants, is engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

McKoon said in a press release that he was “shocked” by the allegation “Willis and wade were allegedly engaged in a romantic relationship before and after” Willis contracted Wade to “prosecute Republicans, richly rewarding him with nearly a million dollars of Fulton County taxpayer money so far.”

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Tennessee Attorney General Skrmetti Claims Meta Knowingly Made Instagram Addictive to Children in Unredacted Lawsuit

AG Skrmetti

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti (R) released on Wednesday the unredacted lawsuit he is leading against Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, which alleges Meta created Instagram using “deceptive and unfair business practices that are fomenting a mental health crisis in this state.”

Skrmetti stated in a press release that his office’s “complaint makes clear that Meta knew its platforms were hurting kids and made a very clear decision to choose money over the mental health of its young users.” The attorney general said that “Tennessee law protects kids from companies, big or small, that mislead and hurt them” and that the state “will continue to aggressively enforce that law.”

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Arizona Department of Education Demands Evidence Schools Are Complying with Mandatory Holocaust Education

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne sent a letter on Tuesday demanding each school in Arizona provide evidence demonstrating compliance with a state law mandating students learn about the Holocaust by January 24.

Horne notified schools via email to “report us by close of business” on January 24 “what you are doing to implement ARS Section 15-701.2 regarding instruction on the Holocaust and other genocides,” and for schools to “indicate how much time is devoted to the subject and what you use for curriculum.”

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Criminal Referral Filed Against DA Fani Willis, Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade over Alleged Romantic Relationship

Greene, Wade, Willis

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) filed a criminal referral on Wednesday against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) over her alleged romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade.

The criminal referral was sent to Governor Brian Kemp and Attorney General Chris Carr, and cites the recent filing by Michael Roman, who is a defendant in the Willis’ election case against former President Donald Trump.

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YoungkinWatch: Democrats Call Governor’s Plan to End Unpopular Car Tax ‘Dead on Arrival’

Surovell Youngkin

Virginia Democrats reportedly claimed in a Wednesday press conference that the proposal by Governor Glenn Youngkin to end the commonwealth’s unpopular car tax is “dead on arrival” at the Virginia General Assembly.

State Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) said Democrats would block Youngkin’s budget proposal to end the state’s unpopular car tax, calling it “dead on arrival,” according to 13 News Now.

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Tennessee State Rep. Justin Jones Ruled Out of Order After Calling House Speaker Sexton ‘Drunk with Power’ on Second Day of Session

Jones Sexton

State Representative Justin Jones (D-Nashville) was ruled out of order by the Tennessee House of Representatives on Wednesday after he reportedly claimed House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) was “drunk with power” on the second day of the 2024 legislative session.

Jones asked to speak about his purported concerns over an incident he and Representative Gloria Johnson (D-Knoxville) claimed to witness on Tuesday, when they allege that Sexton’s security detail prevent Republican Majority Leader William Lamberth (R-Portland) from riding in the same elevator as Sexton.

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Democratic Poll Shows Kari Lake Beating Rep. Ruben Gallego, Sinema Losing by Nearly 20 Points

Lake Gallego

Polling released on Wednesday by a polling firm heavily associated with the Democratic Party showed Kari Lake beating Representative Ruben Gallego (D-AZ-03) in the race to replace Senator Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ), who was 19 points behind her likely Republican challenger.

The Public Policy Polling survey released Wednesday showed Lake has the support of 36 of Arizona voters, edging out Gallego, who has the support of 35 percent. Sinema was 18 points behind Gallego and 19 points behind Sinema, receiving the support of just 17 percent of support, according to the pollsters.

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YoungkinWatch: Sen. Tim Kaine Predicts Governor Will Find ‘Areas of Agreement’ with Democrats, Pass Bipartisan Legislation

Tim Kaine

Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) predicted in a Tuesday interview that Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) will be able to identify “areas of agreement” with Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly and ultimately pass legislation.

Kaine, citing his own experience leading a divided Virginia government as governor from 2006 through 2010, reflected to WTOP News, “We disagreed on a lot, but we always found things we could agree on.”

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Lawyer Hired by Fani Willis to Prosecute Trump Case Met With Biden White House Twice, Possibly Collaborated with January 6 Committee

Nathan Wade

Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor hired by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) who is also alleged to be her romantic partner, reported in invoices submitted to Willis’ office that he met with representatives from the Biden administration twice. The filing also reveals Wade visited Washington, D.C. a third time for unclear, work-related purposes, and may have conferenced with the January 6 Committee in the U.S. House during a separate work-related trip in Georgia.

Defendant Michael Roman, who is among those indicted by Willis in her election case against former President Donald Trump, alleged in a Monday court filing that Willis is engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship with Wade, who Fulton County taxpayers have compensated nearly $654,000.

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New Report Shows Virginia Hospitals Provide $3.3 Billion in Community Support, Generate over $64 Billion in Economic Activity

Virginia hospitals and health systems provided $3.3 billion in community support for the commonwealth in 2022, according to a new report by the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association (VHHA) published on Wednesday. The report also revealed Virginia’s healthcare industry generated more than $64 billion in positive economic activity over the same period.

VHHA determined the dollar amount in community support by “reflecting the cost of uncompensated care, community wellness investment, taxes, and donations.”

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‘Tennessee Three’ Spoke in General Assembly for Combined Seven Hours in 2023, Despite Claims of Being Silenced

Despite repeated claims that Republicans seek to silence them in the Tennessee General Assembly, the members of the “Tennessee Three” collectively spoke more than seven hours in 2023, making them three of the four most loquacious Tennessee lawmakers over the year.

The Tennessee General Assembly began its 2024 regular session on Tuesday, but Representative Justin Pearson (D-Memphis) claimed in repeated statements outside the House chambers that Republicans are trying to silence him.

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Shelby County DA Steve Mulroy Wants Crime Lab in Memphis After City Reports Highest Murder Rate in America

Steve Mulroy

Shelby County District Attorney Steve Mulroy said in a Tuesday press conference that he is officially pushing Memphis to build its own crime lab, citing the sheer amount of crime happening in the city. His call follows analysis that showed Memphis with the highest homicide rate in the United States in 2023.

Mulroy said a crime lab in Memphis would allow authorities to solve crimes “at a higher rate,” and noted a number of new investigative resources it would offer local law enforcement.

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Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney Asks Virginia General Assembly to Approve $100 Million for Sewer Upgrades

Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney reportedly wants the Virginia General Assembly to approve $100 million for the city’s sewer upgrades, plus additional revenue for new speeding cameras, and warned Virginians could see their utility rates “skyrocket” without additional state funding.

“We’re asking for more because we know if we are unable to find the needed amount, a lot of this burden will fall on the ratepayers,” Stoney claimed, according to 12 On Your Side. The outlet reported that Stoney warned “utility bills could skyrocket” without additional funding approved by Virginia lawmakers and Governor Glenn Youngkin (R).

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University of Arizona Settles Lawsuit with Family of Professor Killed on Campus

Thomas Meixner

The University of Arizona (UA) announced on Tuesday that it settled all remaining legal claims with the family of a professor who was killed on the university’s campus in 2022.

In a statement on the university’s website, the UA confirmed the school and Arizona Board of Regents “agreed to a resolution of the legal claims” arising from the death of Professor Thomas Meixner in 2022.

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Special Prosecutor Nathan Wade, Alleged Lover of Fani Willis, Paid at Least $650,000 to Prosecute Trump in Georgia Election Case

Nathan Wade

A Monday filing by attorney Michael Roman, who is a defendant in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, claims that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is engaged in an inappropriate romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, the private defense attorney she appointed to prosecute her case against the former president. Roman alleged in the filing that Wade was paid nearly $1 million by Georgia taxpayers, and The Georgia Star News confirmed he has earned over $650,000 while working on the case against Trump.

Roman made his allegations in a motion to dismiss the case against him, arguing the alleged romantic relationship between Willis and Wade made the indictments improper, as the relationship would violate professional ethics rules for attorneys in Georgia and may have violated federal law by failing to make the relationship public. It also calls on Willis to be barred from prosecuting her case against Trump as a consequence of the improper alleged relationship.

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WKRN TV Fails To Mention Tennessee 11 Gun Control Group Funded by Mexican-American New York Billionaire

Daniel Lubetzky

A report published Tuesday by WKRN TV failed to acknowledge the Tennessee 11 (TN 11), an activist group that seeks to pass red flag legislation and other gun restrictions this year in Tennessee, is funded by a Mexican-American billionaire based in New York.

The television station, which is owned by the publicly traded Nexstar Media Group, reported on the Tennessee 11 event held Tuesday at the Tennessee State Capitol, where the outlet reported, “The TN 11 said they’re calling for legislative solutions addressing gun violence and safety while upholding gun rights.” WKRN TV explained that “TN 11 also polled about 30,000 Tennesseans from all 95 counties” to determine priorities they would ask Tennessee lawmakers to address.

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Tennessee State Rep. Gino Bulso Files Bill to Compel Release of Covenant Killer Manifesto

Tennessee State Representative Gino Bulso (R-Brentwood) filed HB 1653 on Monday to compel Tennessee law enforcement to release materials and evidence related to the Covenant School shooting, including the manifesto written by Audrey Elizabeth Hale, who fatally shot three 9-year-old students and three faculty at the school in March 2023.

Bulso’s bill would require “all state and local law enforcement” to comply with a request from any member of the Tennessee General Assembly seeking “a copy of all records collected by the agency, including, but not limited to, all writings and medical, toxicology, and other reports, of a perpetrator involved in a school shooting incident that occurred at a public or private school in this state in March of 2023.”

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Virginia Department of Education Creates Behavioral Health and Wellness Office as Youngkin Seeks Additional $500 Million in Budget

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) created its new Office of Behavioral Health and Wellness on Friday, and the agency explained it will operate using resources made available by the Right Help, Right Now program created at the behest of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) last year.

A press release from the Virginia agency explained the new office seeks to “address the unprecedented rise in mental health and behavioral challenges facing Virginia students post pandemic” with what one spokesman called “wraparound services” to keep students emotionally capable of learning in school.

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Trump Files Motions to Dismiss Georgia Election Case Citing Presidential Immunity, Double Jeopardy, Prior Election Contests

Former President Donald Trump made three new legal filings in Georgia on Monday, each requesting on different grounds for Fulton County Superior Court Judge to dismiss the case brought against him by District Attorney Fani Willis (D). In the filings, Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow cites alleged due process and double jeopardy violations, as well as presidential immunity granted by the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

“From 1789 to 2023, no President ever faced criminal prosecution for acts committed while in office,” Trump’s attorney Steve Sadow notes in his 67-page filing requesting the case be dismissed by Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee due to presidential immunity. “The indictment in this case charges President Trump for acts that lie at the heart of his official responsibilities as President. The indictment is barred by presidential immunity and should be dismissed with prejudice.”

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Arizona Freedom Caucus Confirms Plan by Gov. Hobbs to ‘Dismantle’ School Choice is ‘Dead on Arrival’

The Arizona Freedom Caucus, parents, and activists rallied on Monday at the Arizona Capitol Lawn against the plan recently unveiled by Governor Katie Hobbs (D) they warned would “dismantle” Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), the popular school choice program that boasts more than 70,000 students. Organizers planned the rally to coincide with the first day of the 2024 legislative session in Arizona.

Arizona Freedom Caucus founder Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who spoke at the rally, told The Arizona Sun Times, “I have a message for Katie Hobbs on behalf of the Arizona Freedom Caucus and every legislative Republican: your attempt to destroy educational opportunities for more than 74,000 Arizona children is dead on arrival at the legislature.”

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Georgia Republicans Who Killed School Choice Legislation in 2023 May Stop Reforms Again

A group of Republicans in the Georgia State House who were responsible to killing a 2023 effort to increase school choice in the state will reportedly work to stymie the education reforms again in 2024, according to a Friday report.

In 2023, Republicans in the Georgia Senate successfully passed Senate Bill 233, which would have granted state funded vouchers of up to $6,500 for students in the bottom 25 percent of the state’s schools. The funding would have been removed from public schools at the same time, which rural Republicans claimed was unfair to students that did not leave the struggling schools.

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Democrats File Resolutions Targeting Amendment Protecting Same-Sex Marriage in Virginia Constitution

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly filed resolutions on Wednesday to amend the Virginia Constitution to allow same-sex marriage.

State Senator Adam Ebbin (D-Alexandria) and Delegate Mark Sickles (D-Fairfax) filed twin versions of SJ 11, which would repeal “the constitutional provision defining marriage as only a union between one man and one woman as well as the related provisions that are no longer valid as a result of the United States Supreme Court decision in Obergefell v. Hodges.”

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Mexican-American Billionaire from New York Funds ‘Tennessee 11’ to Push Gun Control Agenda via ‘Citizen Solutions’ in 2024

The foundation created by Mexican-American “social entrepreneur” and billionaire Daniel Lubetzky is funding a group called the “Tennessee 11,” which seeks to pass a red flag law and other gun control legislation this year in Tennessee.

Lubetzky is the founder of the snack company Kind LLC, and it was reportedly worth $5 billion when the company was sold to Mars Inc. in 2020. When the company was under his management, Lubetzky was named a Presidential Ambassador of Global Entrepreneurship by former President Barack Obama and his administration’s Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker.

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Majority of Tennessee Trump Voters Say Conviction Would Not Change Their Vote: Poll

Donald Trump

A Majority of Tennessee voters who support former President Donald Trump say they will not vote for another candidate if the former president is convicted at any of the charges levied against him in four states and by the federal government.

The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee published data on Thursday indicating 58 percent of voters who support Trump “would still vote for him” even if he “were to be convicted of one or more of the crimes that he has been charged with before the next election.”

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Lawyer Ben Crump Demands Memphis Mayor Paul Young Accept Tyre Nichols Ordinances Despite Ex-Mayor Warning They Are Illegal

Ben Crump

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump reportedly urged Memphis Mayor Paul Young to embrace the police reforms passed through city ordinances following the death of Tyre Nichols last year, even after former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland claimed the ordinances were illegal.

Crump, who represents family members of Nichols, said in a statement issued on the anniversary of Nichols’ death that the family and legal team “are deeply disturbed by the recent revelation by former Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland that he actively avoided signing and enforcing the Driving Equality Act in honor of Tyre Nichols that the Memphis City Council passed in Spring 2023.”

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Virginia Del. John McGuire Claims Rep. Bob Good ‘Hates Trump,’ Cites Leaked December Video

McGuire Good

Virginia Delegate John McGuire (R-Goochland) sharply criticized Representative Bob Good (R-VA-05) in a Thursday appearance on The John Fredericks Show, claiming Good harbors hatred for former President Donald Trump. McGuire launched a primary challenge against Good immediately after winning election to the Virginia State Senate.

McGuire argued to host John Fredericks, who is publisher of The Virginia Star, that Good is a political enemy of the former president, fails to represent the voters in his district, and contributed to Virginia Republicans’ loss of the Virginia House of Delegates in November.

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Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones Slams ‘Ridiculous Political Attack’ After Judge Tosses Effort to Remove Him from Office over 2020 Election Contest

Burt Jones

Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson tossed an effort to remove Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R) from office on Friday. Jones told The Georgia Star News in a statement that he was happy to put the “ridiculous political attack” behind him.

The lawsuit was launched by a group that argued Jones “is an insurrectionist against the Constitution of the United States of America” due to his role as an alternative elector, which his lawyer argued in court was to preserve former President Donald Trump’s legal challenge of the election results in 2020.

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Memphis Has Highest 2023 Murder Rate of All Large U.S. Cities

Memphis Police Van

Memphis had the highest murder rate of 2023 in a comparison of 10 major cities identified as “homicide hubs” within the United States, according to an analysis published Wednesday.

The only Tennessee city tracked for the Wirepoints report, Memphis had a murder rate of 63.9 homicides per 100,000 people in 2023. A total of 397 homicides were reported in the city last year, up by 38 percent from 2022, when the city saw 288 homicides.

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YoungkinWatch: Governor’s Approval Rating Remains Positive Despite November Election Defeats

Glenn Youngkin

Polling released on Thursday revealed the majority of Virginia voters continue to approve of Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) despite Republicans failing to hold the House of Delegates or capture the Virginia Senate last November. 

The Mason-Dixon poll found 58 percent of Virginia voters approve of Youngkin’s job performance as governor, compared to 37 percent who disapprove. Just 5 percent of respondents said they are not sure about their opinion of Youngkin.

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Arizona Lawmakers, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne Push Back of Gov. Hobbs’ ‘Half Cocked Attempt to Destroy’ the ESA Program

Tom Horne

Multiple Arizona lawmakers and State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne have pushed back on the plan by Governor Katie Hobbs to place heavy restrictions on the state’s popular Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program.

Hobbs on Wednesday revealed her plan to place a series of new restrictions on the ESA program, including new state requirements for private school educators and schools, additional scrutiny for ESA contracts before funds are dispersed, a ban on “price gouging,” “minimum standards” for schools, which would apparently be set by the state, and modified eligibility requirements for students, among other new requirements and reforms.

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Atlanta Saw Less Violent Crime in 2023, but Vehicle Thefts and Shoplifting Skyrocketed

Mayor Dickens

Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens and Police Chief Darin Schierbaum held a joint press conference on Thursday to detail what they identified as a downward trend in crime within the city, but preliminary numbers published by the Atlanta Police Department (APD) in December 2023 reveal that not all types of crime are declining.

Dickens said during the press conference that the “major crime against people” was “down more than 15 percent,” with homicides down about 20 percent and rapes down about 50 percent since 2022.

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Attorney for Carol Swain Sends Letter to Harvard Corporation Demanding Answers for Plagiarism by Disgraced President

The Tennessee Star obtained the letter written by an attorney representing Dr. Carol M. Swain sent on Wednesday to the Harvard Corporation, including Interim President Alan Garber and Senior Fellow Penny Pritzker, demanding answers about what Swain claims is plagiarism of her work by outgoing President Claudine Gay.

The letter revealed Swain requires answers about what Harvard considers “duplicative language,” which is what the university has acknowledged Gay committed in several of her academic works. Writer and activist Christopher Rufo in December raised allegations that the former Harvard president plagiarized material from Swain’s work for her 1997 Ph.D. thesis. Swain is a former political science professor at Vanderbilt and a graduate of both the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Yale University.

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Over 30,000 Residents Left Memphis Since 2017 amid Years-Long Struggle with Crime

A report published in November found more than 30,000 Tennesseans left Memphis between 2017 and 2022, causing the city to shrink by almost 5 percent, even as Tennessee’s other major cities grew over the same period. The exodus coincides with a years-long struggle with crime in Memphis that has subsisted despite repeated attempts to render aid by the state and federal governments.

The 2023 study of population decline in United States cities by SmartAsset found that Memphis declined from 652,231 residents in 2017 to 621,050 residents in 2022, marking a 4.78 percent decrease in the city’s population. Memphis had the 27th worst decline in population in the country, according to the study.

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Mark Meadows Hires New Lawyers, Asks Appeals Court for Second Hearing to Move Georgia Election Case to Federal Court

Mark Meadows

Former Trump administration White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows made a new filing with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday evening, requesting an en banc hearing for his appeal of a lower court’s decision denying his request to have the election case against him in Fulton County, Georgia removed to a federal court. Meadows also retained new legal counsel for his attempt to have the entire circuit court hear his appeal.

Following the decision by a panel of judges on the 11th Circuit to deny Meadows’ appeal in December, his attorneys argued in the new filing that its ruling fails to conform with Supreme Court precedent and “consideration by the full court is necessary to secure and maintain uniformity of decisions in this court.”

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