McCabe: ‘Ron DeSantis Has Been an Insane Flame-Out’

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director for the Faith and Freedom Coalition Tennessee and long time pro life activist shared his insights with listeners on Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on the strategy behind the messaging Donald Trump is using to effectively define and box-in the radical Left on the issue of abortion.

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Carol Swain’s Morning Memorandum: New Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Brown Is Sacrificing a Strong Military for ‘Diversity’

All star panelist and author Carol Swain joined Michael Patrick Leahy in-studio on Wednesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report to introduce listeners to her first-ever Morning Memorandum. In her first installment, Swain discussed the importance of a strong U.S. military, and her concerns surrounding the weakness of the current leadership heading the world’s premier fighting force that instead is being directed to focus on “diversity.”

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Senator Marsha Blackburn Demands Transparency from HHS over Missing Migrant Children Response

Group of immigrants at border

On Monday, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) demanded honesty and transparency from Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra over the reports of his Department’s mistreatment of 85,000 missing migrant children.

This follows Becerra and his Department stonewalling Blackburn in her initial request in April for documentation about his knowledge of the potential child exploitation and the Department’s retaliation against whistleblowers.

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Coast Guard Saves Drowning Crane Operator After Accident Near Memphis

According to a maritime news outlet, the United States Coast Guard in Memphis saved a drowning man’s life last week after the crane he was operating fell into McKellar Lake.

“The U.S. Coast Guard helped resuscitated an unresponsive crane operator Tuesday near Memphis, Tennessee, after the crane he was operating fell into the water,” according to a Coast Guard release. 

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U.S. Regulators Sue Amazon for Allegedly Inflating Prices Through Monopoly

The Federal Trade Commission and 17 state attorneys general sued Amazon on Tuesday for allegedly using its power as a monopoly to illegally block competition and inflate prices.

“The complaint alleges that Amazon violates the law not because it is big, but because it engages in a course of exclusionary conduct that prevents current competitors from growing and new competitors from emerging,” the FTC said in an announcement about the complaint against Amazon. 

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Nearly Half of Homeschool Parents Cite ‘Liberal’ Public Schools as Motivating Factor: Poll

Almost half of parents turning to homeschooling today say they are concerned about their children being “influenced by liberal viewpoints,” according to a Washington Post and George Mason University poll released Tuesday.

The number of American families that are homeschooling saw a significant spike following the COVID-19 pandemic, with one study finding that the number had risen by 30% during the 2021-2022 school year, according to the Urban Institute. A new poll found that, when asked why they decided to homeschool, 46% of families replied that they were worried that “local public schools” are “too influenced by liberal viewpoints,” according to the Post.

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University of Wyoming Sorority Members Appeal Court Decision Allowing Biological Men into Chapter

Several female members of the Kappa Kappa Gamma chapter at the University of Wyoming filed an appeal Monday after a court dismissed their lawsuit regarding a biological male who was allowed into their sorority house, according to court documents.

A judge ruled in August that the national organization of Kappa Kappa Gamma has the right to determine its own definition of women for its sororities and did not violate the rules by allowing biological male Artemis Langford, who identifies as a woman, into the chapter. In their first filing, the plaintiffs also listed Langford as one of the defendants, but the appeal only lists the housing organization, the chapter and Kappa Kappa Gamma President Mary Pat Rooney, according to court documents.

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Worker Freedom Group: There Are Protections for Auto Workers Who Don’t Want to Strike

As Big Labor-bought President Joe Biden made his trip to Detroit on Tuesday for a photo-op stop on the United Auto Workers (UAW) picket lines, a worker freedom organization reminded those swept up in the UAW action that there are protections for workers who don’t want to strike. Nearly two…

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2-Month-Old Baby Found Abandoned on the Border with Mexico

Rio Grande Border Patrol agents found a 2-month-old baby after being abandoned at the border with Mexico, officials said Tuesday.

“This is a chilling reminder of how children are exploited by human traffickers and criminal organizations every day,” the Rio Grande Valley Sector Border Patrol said in a Facebook post that included the child’s photo.

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Freddie O’Connell Announces First Appointments to His Staff

Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced on Tuesday updates to his staff one day after being sworn into office during a private ceremony.

Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace, who ran O’Connell’s campaign as campaign manager, will serve as his chief of staff. Alex Apple, who served as O’Connell’s communications director during the campaign, was also hired to serve as deputy communications director and press secretary in the mayor’s office.

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Memphis Mayor Introduces Ordinance Amendment to Invest in City-Wide Broadband Internet

Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland announced Tuesday he introduced an Ordinance amendment to invest in a city-wide broadband network based on findings and suggestions of a report conducted by CTC Energy and Technology.

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Senator Bill Hagerty Joins Effort Demanding Answers on SEC Predictive Data Proposal

U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Banking Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) joined on Tuesday the effort against a new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposal claiming that it “would harm broker-dealers, investment advisors, and Main Street investors.”

This follows the SEC proposing a new rule on July 26th that requires broker-dealers and investment advisors, irrespective of their size, to confront challenges posed by predictive data analytics (“PDA”) and related technologies like artificial intelligence (“AI”).

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Immigrant Group Sues Tennessee Child Services for Failing to Provide Immigration Services for Illegal Alien Children

An advocacy group for illegal aliens is suing the Tennessee Department of Child Services (DCS), alleging that DCS is not doing enough to help illegal alien children in foster care gain citizenship in the United States. 

“For children in DCS custody without legal immigration status, DCS’s care must include addressing and safeguarding their immigration-related needs, which impact their health, welfare, and safety,” says a lawsuit filed by Advocates for Immigrant Rights in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee. “This care entails determining whether a child is in need of immigration related services, ensuring that DCS considers immigration-related needs when helping the child plan for their future, and helping a child access needed services.”

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Arizona Senate Republicans Blast ‘Petulant Temper Tantrum’ from Gov. Hobbs over Confirmation Hearings

Arizona Senate Republicans fired back after Governor Katie Hobbs (D) withdrew her nominations for Arizona’s state agencies and declared she would deny oversight from the Arizona Legislature by appointing permanent “executive deputy directors” instead.

In a statement released Monday afternoon, Hobbs called Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), who heads the Arizona State Senate panel to vet and interview Hobbs’ nominees, a “fake elector” guilty of creating a “political circus” in the Senate.

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Connecticut Lawmakers Press for Absentee Ballot Probe into September Incident

Connecticut lawmakers are calling for an investigation and changes in state election laws following allegations of absentee ballot fraud in a mayoral election.

Following the Sept. 12 primary, John Gomes, a Democrat who challenged incumbent Bridgeport Mayor Joe Ganim, released video footage showing a woman depositing absentee ballots into a dropbox a week before the election. Gomes lost to Ganim by 251 mail-in or absentee votes despite beating him at the polls, according to the election results.

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Pennsylvania State Order Embraces Artificial Intelligence

The governor’s administration says the state should encourage the responsible use of artificial intelligence throughout its agencies, rather than turn a blind eye to its capabilities.

Thus, a new executive order was born, Gov. Josh Shapiro said, which represents “the most comprehensive” action taken at the state level to incorporate AI programs.

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Commentary: The Implications of Joe Biden’s Pending Political Demise

I’ve been saying, at The Spectacle podcast and elsewhere, that I refuse to make any assumptions about the 2024 presidential cycle. And let me offer the further caveat that Republican voters and conservative activists, not to mention current and prospective officeholders who wear that “R” next to their political names, had better pay a whole lot more attention to the structure of next year’s political cycle than to the personalities and candidates involved.

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Franconia-Springfield Rail Project Receives $100 Million in Federal Funding

The Virginia Passenger Rail Authority is set to receive $100 million in federal funding for another transportation project designed to improve travel in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area.

Drivers traveling from Fredericksburg into the district should be enjoying reduced commute times due to the installation of the long-awaited express lanes along the I-95 corridor. Soon, construction will begin on the Franconia-Springfield Bypass. This rail bridge will allow Amtrak and Virginia Railway Express trains to “seamlessly cross over two freight rail tracks, preventing delays and expanding capacity for additional service,” according to a press release from U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s office.

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Ford Pauses Michigan EV Battery Plant, Union Says Decision Is ‘Barely-Veiled Threat’ to Cut Jobs

Ford is pausing work on its $3.5 billion electric vehicle battery plant over concerns that the automobile manufacturer will be unable to operate the planned Michigan factory competitively in a decision that the United Auto Workers union says is a “barely-veiled threat” to cut jobs amid a strike against the company.

Officials have not made a final decision on whether the plant, which is set to be located in southern Michigan near the town of Marshall, will become operational, Ford spokesperson T.R. Reid said, CNN reported Monday.

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Target Closes Nine Stores, Citing ‘Theft and Organized Retail Crime’

Minneapolis-based Target Corporation announced Tuesday that it is closing nine stores in four different states, citing “theft and organized retail crime.”

The closures include locations in New York City, Seattle, San Francisco, and Portland, according to a press release.

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District Attorney Fani Willis Tells Atlanta Hip Hop Festival She’s Been ‘Threatened’ over Trump, Young Thug

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) told the audience at the Atlanta-based hip hop festival, Revolt World, that she and members of her family have received threats as a result of her office’s prosecutions of former President Donald Trump and rapper Young Thug.

Willis attended the festival, held in Atlanta beginning on September 22, and delivered remarks about her high profile prosecutions of Trump and Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams. At one point Willis told the audience that her father, daughters, and ex-husband have all received threats due to the high profile cases, in addition to threats she personally received.

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Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson Reveals 2017 National Institute of Health Records Raising Concerns About Wuhan Lab

In 2017, a report from an official at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) raised red flags about the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV), according to internal records revealed this week by U.S. Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI).

“It is clear to me by talking to the technician that certainly there is a need for training support,” Dr. Ping Chen, an NIAID official, wrote in a report about the controversial laboratory suspected of unleashing COVID-19 on the world.

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Georgia Prosecutors Claim Mark Meadows Was ‘Meddling’ in ‘Matters of State Authority’ After 2020 Election

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) accused former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows of abusing his federal position to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 elections, according to a filing her office submitted to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.

Meadows has repeatedly sought to have his case removed from Fulton County to a federal court. That attempt was stymied by a federal judge, but an expedited appeal was granted to the 11th Circuit. Meadows’ lawyers submitted their filing last week, arguing that Willis was committing unforced constitutional “errors” in her “unnecessary” effort to prevent his case’s removal.

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Trial Wraps Up in Kari Lake’s Lawsuit to View Ballot Signature Affidavits from Maricopa County, Judge Allows None of Her Witnesses or Exhibits

A lawsuit Kari Lake filed over Maricopa County’s refusal to let her use public records law to inspect ballot affidavits, which are signatures from voters on the mail-in envelopes for their ballots, ended after a two-day trial on Monday. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge John Hannah, who was appointed to the bench by Democratic Governor Janet Napolitano, refused to allow any of Lake’s several proposed witnesses to testify or allow any of her exhibits into evidence.

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Shipping Container Wall Lawsuit Dropped, Locals Justify Blocking Flood of Illegal Immigrants

As the shipping containers along the southern border in Yuma, Arizona, came down months ago, the two federal cases against the state have been dismissed.

The Ducey administration placed the containers at the gaps last year and agreed with the federal government to take them down under the condition that a replacement barrier was created, The Center Square reported in December. However, the federal government took months to make progress on its own barrier, KYMA reported. 

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Report: Georgia Needs to Rethink Lot, Home Size Requirements

Local jurisdictions might need to rethink their minimum lot and home size requirements given the state’s growing population and apparent need for “adequate workforce housing.”

That’s the upshot of a new Georgia Public Policy Foundation report.

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Ohio Republican Party Poll Shows Democrats Overwhelmingly Want Zero Restrictions on Abortion

Ohio Democratic lawmakers want zero legal restrictions on abortion in the state, according to a new poll conducted by the Ohio Republican Party.

The Ohio Republican Party straw X poll last week detailed that 71.4 percent of individuals surveyed said that Ohio Democratic officials and abortion lobbyists want to remove all legal restrictions to abortion in Ohio.

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Voters Overwhelmingly Side with the GOP on the Economy: Poll

Republicans hold a commanding lead among voters’ views toward which party handles the economy better as President Joe Biden continues to pitch his economic policy to the American people, according to a new NBC News poll.

Republicans lead Democrats 49% to 28% among registered voters surveyed on the economy, which is the largest lead in NBC polling since 1991, according to NBC News. Biden has sought to sell his economic policy, dubbed “Bidenomics,” to Americans, which consists of high-spending stimulus programs and green energy subsidies.

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Gavin Newsom Signs Law Barring Removal of LGBTQ Books from Schools

Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a bill Monday that will ban school boards from removing books that teach racial or LGBTQ topics in the classroom.

School boards around the U.S. are removing books and materials from classrooms that parents have deemed inappropriate, causing books with overtly racial or sexual material to become a flashpoint in the culture wars. A.B. 1078, which Newsom signed, will prevent school boards from banning instructional materials or library books that include information teaching about racial or LGBTQ topics, and will allow the county superintendent to take unilateral action to include these materials, according to the bill.

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‘Playin’ Possum’: Nancy Jones Remembers George Jones

FRANKLIN, Tennessee-Many have been fascinated by George Jones’ storied life. He is possibly the greatest male vocalist in county music history with 79 top ten hits and 10 number ones including “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” a song often considered as the greatest country song of all time. But his addiction to drugs and alcohol nearly destroyed his career.

This addiction affected his relationships with women, including his volatile marriage to Tammy Wynette. However, when he met Nancy Sepulvado in 1981, his entire world changed.

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Photos Show Ambassador Yovanovitch Met Twice with Burisma Official After Being Told Firm Was Corrupt

Photos deleted from the now-defunct Burisma Holdings website show former U.S. Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch met with Vadim Pozharskyi—the Burisma official who worked closely with Hunter Biden—at two separate events after she had been told the Ukrainian energy company was considered corrupt by the State Department.

The photos are likely to raise fresh questions  about parts of Yovanovitch’s testimony to Congress during former President Donald Trump’s first impeachment. It also raises the question of why the U.S. embassy in Ukraine engaged with company representatives in a public relations campaign with the U.S. government at the same time that internal embassy communications focused on the company’s corruption.

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Aaron Gulbransen: ‘I Know What Donald Trump Is Doing on the Issue of Abortion’

Aaron Gulbransen, executive director for the Faith and Freedom Coalition Tennessee and long time pro life activist shared his insights with listeners on Tuesday’s episode of The Tennessee Star Report with Michael Patrick Leahy on the strategy behind the messaging Donald Trump is using to effectively define and box-in the radical Left on the issue of abortion.

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GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

With former President Donald Trump skipping the debate at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, CA, top tier candidates like Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Ohio entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, and former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley will try to tell those watching why they’re a better option than the race’s far and away frontrunner — and the rest of the crowded field of Republican candidates.

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Tennessee U.S. Reps. Harshbarger, Green, and Rose Join Colleagues to Relaunch the Bipartisan Rural Health Caucus

Tennessee U.S. Representatives Diana Harshbarger (R-TN-01), John Rose (R-TN-06), and Mark Green (R-TN-07) joined 39 other congressional lawmakers in relaunching the bipartisan Rural Health Caucus.

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Dem-Aligned ‘States Project’ Drops Millions to Change Laws in Swing States

The States Project, a Democrat-aligned group, spent $60 million across five swing states last year as part of an effort to proliferate liberal policies, The New York Times reported.

The group focuses on getting Democrats elected to state legislatures and aids them once elected in order to get more liberal policies passed, according to its website. The States Project’s is a joint initiative between PAC For America’s Future, which receives funding from George Soros’ Democracy PAC, and Future Now Action, a 501c4 dark money group that does not disclose its donors, according to the organization’s website.

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House Speaker Sexton and Lt. Gov McNally Announce Creation of Joint Working Group to Study How Federal Funding Impacts Education in Tennessee

On Monday, Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton (R-Crossville) and Lieutenant Governor Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) announced the creation of a new Joint Working Group to study the impact federal funds have on education in the Volunteer State.

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Biden Administration Allocates Nearly $24 Million for Railway Projects in Tennessee

The federal government is allocating nearly $24 million to improve Tennessee’s railways, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT).

“In Tennessee, the Tennessee Short Line Railroads Bridge Bundle Project will put more than $23.7 million to work upgrading approximately 42 bridges along 10 different short line railroads in need of immediate, extensive repair or replacement,” a Monday USDOT press release said. “The impacted bridges are located throughout the state, and their upgrades will strengthen the short line rail network and improve operational efficiency.”

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Beacon Center Files Lawsuit Against the State of Tennessee for Law Requiring Online Auctioneers to be Licensed

The Nashville-based Beacon Center of Tennessee filed a new lawsuit against the State of Tennessee in a challenge to Public Chapter No. 471 – a law that requires online auctioneers to be licensed.

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Tennessee U.S. Senator Bill Hagerty Leads Legislative Effort to Prohibit U.S. Asylum for CCP Members

U.S. Senator and member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bill Hagerty (R-TN) is leading the effort to prohibit U.S. asylum for members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Hagerty along with U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) along with six other Senate Republican colleagues have introduced the No Asylum for CCP Spies Act which aims to deny members of communist or totalitarian parties, like the CCP from being granted asylum in the U.S. and ensures under federal law that members of these parties are ineligible for immigration benefits.

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Biden Approves $1 Billion in Grants to Combat ‘Environmental Injustice’ with Shade

To combat what is referred to as “environmental injustice,” the Biden Administration is giving out $1 billion in grants to put up trees in areas of cities that serve mostly minorities that have been robbed of the environmental benefits of shade due to alleged racism.

The funding is part of a $1.5 billion investment from President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act focusing on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Forest Service Urban and Community Forestry Program.

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‘Join the Communists’: Minneapolis to Play Host to ‘Marxist School’

The 2023 Marxist School, organized by a group called International Marxist Tendency (IMT), is coming to Minneapolis at the end of September.

“Join the communists!” a website for the event says.

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Victor Davis Hanson Commentary: Is the Left Happy That They Got Their Wish?

by Victor Davis Hanson   America has been in a veritable cultural revolution since the 1960s. Nearly all our major institutions finally became woke — the administrative state, traditional and social media, universities, K-12, the corporate boardroom, entertainment, professional sports, and the foundations. So the Obama and the Biden administrations…

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Gov. Glenn Youngkin Is Working to Ditch His State’s EV Mandate

Virginia Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears poised to overturn his state’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate if his party fares well in upcoming statewide elections.

Virginia is one of 17 states that adhere to some or all of California’s vehicle emissions standards, after former Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam enacted legislation binding Virginia to California’s standards prior to Youngkin’s election in 2021. Virginia is one of only two states, along with Nevada, that has a Republican governor in office and is also tied to California’s standards, which dictate that all new car sales in Virginia must be EVs starting in 2035.

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State Aims for Smoother Online Hunting License Sales

Although the launch of online hunting license sales started off rocky this year, the agency responsible says they have taken steps to improve the process. 

Pennsylvania  Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans acknowledged issues with rollout on June 26, but said he expected the process to be smoother in the future during a recent Senate Game and Fisheries Committee hearing.

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Gov. Brian Kemp Will Back Trump if Nominated in 2024: ‘A Lot Better Than Biden’ and ‘Can Win Georgia’

Governor Brian Kemp (R) said he believes former President Donald Trump “can win Georgia” during an interview last Friday. Kemp added that he would support Trump, should he become the Republican nominee for president, despite the public feud between the men.

Kemp said he is willing to support the former president during the 2024 general election during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp described Trump as “a lot better than Biden,” adding that those “serving in the administration would be a lot better” than those tapped by the Biden White House.

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Connecticut’s Indexed Minimum Wage Set to Rise in 2024

Wages will rise for hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers in Connecticut next year under a 2019 law that pegs the state’s minimum wage to the federal employment index. 

Beginning Jan. 1, Connecticut’s wage floor will rise from $15.00 per hour to $15.69 per hour as a result of the state’s first-ever economic indicator adjustment. 

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Arizona Political Ads Must Now Disclose Top 3 Sources of Funding: Citizens Clean Elections Commission

Political advertisements in Arizona must now disclose their top three funding sources, according to a new rule announced last Friday by the Clean Elections Commission (CEC).

New political advertisements placed in Arizona will be required to disclose the top three funding sources used to place the ads, per the new rule. All forms of political advertising, including TV, radio, and printed mailers sent to homes, are included.

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