Author: Zachery Schmidt

Ohio Doctor Accused of Murdering 25 People Sues His Former Employer For Defamation

Zachery Schmidt

  Accused murderer Dr. William Husel, who is alleged to have killed 25 people by fatal drug overdose, has sued his former employer for defamation. However, in a lawsuit filed last week, Husel denies the charge, claiming he followed Mount Carmel West’s end-of-life protocols, and that the hospital breached his contract and defamed him. “It would not be an exaggeration to state that Dr. Husel has suffered perhaps the most egregious case of defamation in Ohio’s recent history,” the lawsuit says according to the Associated Press. Husel claims the patients he is accused of murdering died from their illnesses and not fentanyl. The former doctor is seeking $50,000 in damages. He is suing Mount Carmel Health System (MCHS) and its parent organization, Trinity Health Corp. Mount Carmel released a statement to ABC 6 after Husel and his lawyers filed their lawsuit. “Allegations such as these are unfounded. We completed an extensive review of patient care provided by Dr. William Husel and stand by our decisions. Mount Carmel’s focus continues to be on caring for our patients.” After being fired in January by Mount Carmel, the State Medical Board of Ohio suspended Husel’s license to practice, according to the AP.  A…

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Confederate Statues Removed in Memphis Given to Sons of Confederate Veterans

Zachery Schmidt

  Sons of Confederate Veterans (SCV) received the statues of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis and Nathan Bedford Forrest Tuesday from a Tennessee nonprofit group almost two years after being removed from public parks in Memphis. Bruce McMullen, the city of Memphis’s chief legal officer, said in a statement that the statues have been permanently removed from Memphis and Shelby County. Furthermore, McMullen said the statues were given to the Forrest family and the SCV to “display them as they wish.” Paul Gramling, the commander-in-chief for SCV, confirmed this news on his Facebook page. “Ladies and gentlemen…….I am writing this in order, I hope, to cut down on the speculation of recent events and news from Memphis. Yes, it is true, the statues are no longer in Memphis or Shelby County. They are in an undisclosed, safe and secure location,” he said. Gramling also asked people to not make any “disparaging remarks” about Memphis or city officials to make sure nothing jeopardizes their “efforts and negotiations that still remain.” “Please trust that the Forrest family and National SCV leadership are on top of every aspect of this endeavor,” he said.   SCV and Memphis officials had been in an ongoing court…

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Tennessee’s Only Democrats in House, Steve Cohen and Jim Cooper, Announce Support for Articles of Impeachment

Zachery Schmidt

  Tennessee’s only two Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives, Reps Steve Cohen (TN-09) and Jim Cooper (TN-05), have announced their decisions to support the two Articles of Impeachment against President Trump, introduced in the House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. Both Cohen and Cooper represent safely Democratic districts. Cohen represents Memphis, while Cooper represents Nashville. The remaining seven members of the Tennessee Congressional delegation are all Republicans, and are all strongly behind the president. Cooper’s announcement came on Tuesday, while Cohen’s came on Wednesday night as members of the House Judiciary Commitee debated articles of impeachment. During that hearing, Cohen, who sits on that committee, declared President Donald Trump used his office “for personal political gain.” “When President Trump, for his own personal political gain, asked for a favor from a foreign leader, he did exactly what our Founders feared most — he invited the influence of a foreign power into our elections. This is one of the primary reasons the Founders placed impeachment in our Constitution. Trump’s subversive and illegal actions in seeking foreign interference is an insult to the “Constitution and to free and fair elections,” according to Cohen. Furthermore, the representative believes Trump’s “attempt to subvert…

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Protesters Gather Outside Mayor Cooper’s Office Asking Questions About Police Body Cameras

Zachery Schmidt

  Protesters gathered outside Nashville Mayor John Cooper’s office Tuesday night wanting answers to why the city hasn’t implement body cameras on its police officers yet. They want cameras to be on Metro police officers by January, WPLN reported. People expressed their frustration by shouting “three years, three mayors, still no cameras.” This referred to previous mayors not adding these cameras to the city’s budget. Back in 2016, then-Mayor Megan Barry promised she would fund body cameras in the city’s budget. However, the body cameras did not make it in Nashville’s budget. This summer former Mayor David Briley signed a deal with the Metro Police Department to roll out the cameras, but it stalled because he lost re-election to Cooper in September. The Metro Police Department scheduled to buy body cameras two weeks ago. However, Cooper put a stop to this plan after Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury Justin Wilson told Metro Council to fix Nashville’s budget problems. If the city’s budget problems are not fixed, the state could become involved Wilson warned. “None of us want to see that happen,” he said. “ You don’t want someone from the state capital to come and tell you how to run…

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Three Tennessee Congressional Members Sent a Letter to President Trump Asking Him to Support Gov. Lee’s Federal Aid Request

Zachery Schmidt

  Tennessee’s Senators Lamar Alexander and Marsha Blackburn, along with Rep. Mark Green (R-TN-07), sent a letter to President Donald Trump Monday asking him to support Gov. Bill Lee’s federal aid request for a major disaster declaration. “The storms that swept across the State of Tennessee beginning on October 26th cost two Tennesseans their lives, blew over seven commercial tractor-trailers, shutdown the Tennessee River Bridge on Interstate I-40 for several hours, left nearly 65,000 Tennesseans without power, and closed down nine school districts for nearly a week,” the letter states. Last month, Lee petitioned the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to use its Public Assistance Program on 10 Tennessee counties that experienced almost $22 million in damage after Tropical Storm Olga hit. During his announcement to seek federal disaster relief, Lee described how emergency workers worked “tirelessly” during the storm and how this money would help “lessen the financial burden” on Tennessee. Lee said the relief would go to emergency work done “during and after the response.” The Republican Congressional members’ letter “strongly urged” the president to considers Tennessee’s request “as soon as possible.” According to the letter, the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency has worked with the FEMA since the…

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The History of Cyber Monday

Zachery Schmidt

  The year is 2004, both Ellen Davis and Scott Silverman, who work for Shop.org, are conducting research when they happened to stumble upon key information that would, in turn, create a new annual online shopping tradition. Research showed them that the Monday after Thanksgiving was one of the biggest shopping days of the year. With that finding, the two created a marketing campaign that would encourage people to buy more things for the holidays. A year later in 2005, the first “Cyber Monday” was announced. The first Cyber Monday saw shoppers spending $484 million. Just five years into the shopping holiday in 2010, it reached $1 billion. Ever since, the line between Cyber Monday and Black Friday has become increasingly blurred. More and more companies have started to put their exclusive deals online rather than in the shops. In 2018, people spent a record $7.9 billion on Cyber Monday, according to CNBC. This was more than was spent on Black Friday online shopping in 2018 where people spent over $6.2 billion. It is common for Americans to buy holiday presents between Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Last year, Amazon sold over 180 million items from Thanksgiving Day to Cyber…

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Mark Sanford Ends His Republican Primary Challenge to President Trump

Zachery Schmidt

  Just two months in, former South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford announced he suspended his 2020 presidential primary challenge to President Donald Trump. “I am suspending my race for the presidency because impeachment has made my goal of making the debt, deficit and spending issue a part of this presidential debate impossible right now,” Sanford said in a statement posted on Facebook Tuesday. “From Day 1, I was fully aware of how hard it would be to elevate these issues with a sitting president of my own party ignoring them. Impeachment noise has moved what was hard to hurulean [sic] as nearly everything in Republican Party politics is currently viewed through the prism of impeachment.” At his press conference announcing his decision, Sanford noted that “all the oxygen is leaving the room in meaningful debate” and politics has turned into a “red versus blue team.” Sanford emerged as a critic of Trump and his policies when he became president. His campaign focused on returning to “traditional” conservative values and focusing on America’s debt problem. “The purpose of this campaign is to spark a needed conversation as Republicans on what it means to be a Republican, and a larger national debate…

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A New ‘Joker,’ an Out-of-this-World Drama, and a Mountaintop Adventure Are at the Movies This Weekend

Zachery Schmidt

  A Joker, an astronaut, and group of climbers await you at the movie theaters this weekend. Joker: What some people consider the movie of the year, Joker hit the big screen Friday telling the origin story of Gotham City’s favorite villain. Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), a failed comedian, is constantly alone in the world. For a day job, he is a clown which allows him a fruitless attempt to feel apart of the world. However, as he begins to feel more isolated from society, he transforms into the criminal mastermind of the Joker. Rotten Tomatoes movie critics gave this drama a 70 percent rating, however, fans gave it a 93 percent rating. Lucy in the Sky: Astronaut Lucy Cole (Natalie Portman) returns from space after having an affair with another astronaut Mark Goodwin (Jon Hamm) outside of earth. When she returns home, things spiral out of control for her as she starts to lose connection with her family and Goodwin begins an affair with another astronaut trainee. This drama has rated badly with movie critics. Rotten Tomatoes scored it at 30 percent. Audience ratings were not available. This movie opened on Friday. The Climbers: This drama/action movie details the…

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Movies to Watch This Weekend

Zachery Schmidt

  Unbelievable: A teen (Kaitlyn Dever) reports that she was raped but later recants her rape confession. However, two female detectives investigate this case as with other similar cases to try to get to the bottom of the situation. This drama limited series based on true events became available Friday on Netflix has been received well by Rotten Tomatoes movie critics. They have scored this movie at a 92 percent.     Hustlers: This movie follows four former strip club employees who join together and try to turn the tables on former Wall Street clients after being inspired by a New York magazine article. Rotten Tomatoes movie critics gave this movie an 89 percent rating. This drama movie opened on Friday.   The Goldfinch: A teenage boy Theodore Decker’s mother died in the bombing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. This life-altering event sends the 13-year-old down (Oakes Fegley) life events that make him feel grief, guilt, redemption and love. While experiencing these moments, he has a painting of a tiny bird chained to its perch: the Goldfinch. Rotten Tomatoes movie critics have given this movie a 30 percent rating. This drama opened on Friday. – –…

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Glen Casada and Bill Ketron Are Under Investigation for Campaign Finance Violations

Zachery Schmidt

  Former Tennessee Speaker of the House Glen Casada and current Rutherford County Mayor Bill Ketron are both being investigated for allegedly misspending campaign money, according to NewsChannel 5. The Tennessee Registry of Election Finance unanimously voted Wednesday to look into both politicians’ campaign and political action committee accounts. Registry Board Member Tom Lawless told Channel 5 he wanted two things: transparency and integrity. “It’s not something I’m thrilled to ask for by any stretch of the imagination but I think we have to,” he said. “It’s of sufficient import to the folks that put us here and to the taxpayers and to the people elected that we do this.” The state’s election finance registry has had a hard time collecting fines for violating campaign and ethics rules. As The Tennessee Star previously reported, the registry has $1.5 million in outstanding unpaid fines, including fines against Ketron, who already owes $50,000 to the state. Casada, upon learning about the upcoming investigation, issued a statement to The Tennessean. “I am confident that an independent review of my PAC and campaign finances by the registry will make it clear that I have not used any funds inappropriately, and I urge them to…

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