Category: News

WTN’s Matt Murphy Calls Out State Rep. Todd Warner for Claim He Did Not Record or Know Who Recorded Phone Conversation with AFP’s Tori Venable Broadcast in NewsChannel5 Report by Phil Williams

Michael Patrick Leahy
Mark Warner and Tori Venable

Tuesday afternoon on the Matt Murphy Show, broadcast weekdays from noon to 3 p.m. on SuperTalk 99.7 WTN, host Murphy interviewed Tori Venable, executive director of Americans for Prosperity-Tennessee, about AFP’s support for Governor Bill Lee’s universal school choice bill currently under consideration in The Tennessee General Assembly. During the interview, Venable criticized the reporting of Phil Williams in Monday evening’s broadcast on NewsChannel 5, which featured an interview with State Representative Todd Warner (R-Chapel Hill), as well as a recording of a phone call between Williams and Venable that was obtained without Venable’s consent.

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Container Ship Slams Baltimore’s Key Bridge, Officials Say Vessel Lost Power Just Before Impact

Just the News
Baltimore Key Bridge collapsed

A container ship slammed into a Baltimore bridge early Tuesday, causing it to collapse and send vehicles and road crew members into a river in what authorities declared “a dire emergency.”

The incident occurred at about 1:30 a.m. on the Francis Scott Key Bridge, prompting an emergency search-and-rescue operation in the frigid waters of the Patapsco River.

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Milwaukee Takes More than $1 Million in ‘Zuckerbucks’ Ahead of Vote to Ban Private Election Funding

Just the News
Milwaulkee Skyline

Milwaukee has accepted more than $1 million in “Zuckerbucks” — the injection of private money into public election administration — just weeks before Wisconsin residents will vote on whether to ban such funds.

The city of Milwaukee, which previously accepted “Zuckerbucks” in 2020, has received a new form of the private funding over two separate grants just weeks prior to Wisconsin voters deciding whether to approve a state constitutional amendment banning “Zuckerbucks.”

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After Russian Terror Attack, Prominent Lawmakers Warn ISIS-K Could Strike U.S.

Just the News
Michael McCaul

As the world absorbs the horror of the ISIS-K slaughter inside a Russian concert hall, prominent members of Congress are warning the Afghan-based terror group could strike inside the United States.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul said Sunday the threat of an attack was heightened by President Joe Biden‘s bungled withdrawal from Afghanistan, which gave ISIS-K  a breeding ground to train and carry out attacks.

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TDOT Will Halt Construction for Easter Weekend

Peter D'Abrosca
Road construction

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) will halt interstate construction beginning Thursday as travelers head to their Easter destinations. 

“TDOT crews and contractors will stop all road construction work that requires lane closures beginning Thursday, March 28, at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 1 at 6:00 a.m.,” a release from the department says. “This will provide maximum roadway capacity to motorists expected to travel across the state this upcoming holiday weekend.”

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Arizona State University Paid Ibram Kendi $35,000 for 60-Minute Speech

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Ibram Kendi

Boston University Professor Ibram Kendi took in $35,000 for a 60-minute speech, according to a recently released contract.

Arizona State University sent the contract to The College Fix on March 20 in response to a public records request filed in October 2023. The university never responded to a November 2023 message asking for an update nor provided any other updates up until last week.

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ASU Students Earn College Credit for Helping Illegal Immigrants at Charity Accused of Aiding Border Crossings

Tom Pappert
University of Arizona faculty volunteers at Casa Alitas

Students at Arizona State University (ASU) have the ability to enroll in a program that allows them to provide support services to illegal immigrants serviced by a Catholic Charities organization in exchange for school credit.

A university website reveals that any student enrolled in an ASU Health Sciences program and some students from the ASU School of Social Work are eligible to “provide aid to migrants looking for a better life” at Casa Alitas in what the university calls the MILAGRO Collaborative.

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Commentary: Will DEI End America or America End DEI?

Admin
College students protesting

At the nexus of most of America’s current crises, the diversity/equity/inclusion dogma can be found. The southern border has been destroyed because the Democratic Party wanted the poor of the southern hemisphere to be counted in the census, to vote if possible in poorly audited mail-in elections, and to build upon constituencies that demand government help. Opposition to such cynicism and the de facto destruction of enforcement of U.S. immigration law is written off as “racism,” “nativism,” and “xenophobia.”

The military is short more than 40,000 soldiers. The Pentagon may fault youth gangs, drug use, or a tight labor market. But the real shortfall is mostly due inordinately to reluctant white males who have been smeared by some of the military elite as suspected “white supremacists,” despite dying at twice their demographics in Iraq and Afghanistan. And they are now passing on joining up despite their families’ often multigenerational combat service.

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Attorney Who Exposed Fani Willis, Nathan Wade Affair Expects Disqualification Appeal to Last Six Months, Will Not be Resolved Before Election

Tom Pappert
Atty Ashleigh Merchant and defendant Mike Roman

The attorney who revealed the affair between Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and former special prosecutor Nathan Wade predicted on Monday the latest appeal to disqualify the district attorney will take up to six months, likely eliminating the possibility of the Georgia election case against former President Donald Trump going to trial before November.

Attorney Ashleigh Merchant said during a Monday appearance on Fox & Friends that she does not see “any way” Willis could receive a final confirmation she will not be disqualified from the Trump case in Georgia before the November elections.

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Democrat Activist Faces Decades in Prison After Virginia Jury Convicts on Fraud Charges

Tom Pappert
Derickson K Lawrence

The Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Friday the conviction of Democratic activist and former congressional candidate Derickson Lawrence of fraud charges related lies he told to obtain over $25,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans and the misuse of over $230,000 entrusted to his company to process another firm’s payroll.

Despite his business operating in Virginia, Lawrence ran in the Democratic Party primary to represent New York’s 16th Congressional district in 2018, ultimately losing to former Representative Eliot Engel.

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Commentary: Elon Musk Is Right, We Are in a Fight to the Death for Free Speech

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Elon Musk

Elon Musk on March 21 in a post on the X platform outlined what he called “centrist” positions on issues like securing the border, protecting American cities, reducing federal spending, ending diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) reverse discrimination policies, ending youth transgender surgeries and protecting freedom of speech under the First Amendment to the Constitution, saying these are not “right-wing” positions.

Musk wrote, “This is a battle to the death with the anti-civilizational woke mind virus. My positions are centrist: … Secure borders … Safe & clean cities … Don’t bankrupt America with spending … Racism against any race is wrong … No sterilization below age of consent … Is this right-wing?” In a second post in the thread, he added, “And, although it shouldn’t need to said, I believe in the Constitution and freedom of speech.”

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Parent Takes Legal Action to Preserve English as the Primary Language in Arizona Classrooms

Debra McClure
Creighton Elementary School District

A Phoenix-area parent filed a lawsuit against Creighton Elementary School District on March 19, 2024, for using a dual language program, accusing the district of violating a law that requires students learning English to be taught in English-only classrooms throughout the school day. The lawsuit was part of a broader effort to uphold English as the primary language used in Arizona classrooms.

According to the lawsuit, parent Patricia Pellett, whose “son is a student currently studying at Scottsdale High School,” is suing Creighton Elementary School District for allegedly violating Proposition 203, which Arizona voters approved “by margin of over 60 [percent]” in 2000. The lawsuit states that the “purpose of Proposition 203 was that children should no longer be taught in bilingual or dual language classes, where they are taught part of the day in Spanish. Instead, the purpose of Proposition 203 was that children should be taught the entire school day in English, so that they would quickly become proficient in English.”

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Voters ID Inflation, Immigration as Top Concerns Ahead of Presidential Election

The Center Square
People in grocery checkout line

Likely voters are focused on inflation and price increases, illegal immigration and the economy as incumbent President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump prepared for a rematch of 2020 in November. 

The Center Square Voters’ Voice Poll, conducted in conjunction with Noble Predictive Insights, found that given a range of options to identify their top concerns, likely voters said inflation/price increases (45 percent), illegal immigration (44 percent) and the economy/jobs (24 percent) were the issues that matter most to them. 

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U.S. to Announce Major Shakeup in Military Ties with Japan as China Threat Looms

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Navy Ships

The U.S. and Japan will announce a historic upgrade to security ties, including a collaborative military command, next month as the two former adversaries move closer together in determination to counter China, according to media reports published Monday.

Chief among the changes under consideration involves sending a four-star general, the highest peacetime rank, to head U.S. Forces Japan (USFJ) and jointly oversee a military command with Japan for planning and exercises, Reuters reported, citing two sources familiar with the discussions. Tokyo also hopes to establish a new Japanese Self Defense Forces (SDF) headquarters, whose head will serve as the Japanese counterpart to the American four-star, by March of 2025, the sources said.

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‘Politically Weaponized’: Republicans Criticize Federally Funded Plan to Have Students Register Voters

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Students registering to vote

Republican leaders are responding with skepticism to the Biden administration’s plans to hire students to register voters and work in polling places.

New Department of Education guidance states Federal Work-Study funds “may be used for employment by a Federal, State, local, or Tribal public agency for civic engagement work that is not associated with a particular interest or group.”

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United Auto Workers’ Push for Unionization in Tennessee Sets Up Industry Disruption, Expert Says

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Volkswagen Plant Chattanooga

After recent wins, the United Auto Workers (UAW) looks poised to take on the non-unionized automakers and, if successful, could disrupt the whole industry.

The UAW recently filed a petition with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) to hold a vote at a Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, which employs around 4,000 autoworkers, as it looks to expand its reach to other automakers. A successful union vote in Chattanooga could be a key stepping stone in the UAW’s effort to break into the currently non-unionized auto plants, especially in the south, which has historically been less receptive to unions, all the while the UAW is being emboldened by labor-friendly regulators from the Biden administration, experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

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Never Trumpers Blake Harris and Kim Kaegi Push ‘Moderate’ Council Member Courtney Johnston to Challenge Andy Ogles in TN-5 GOP Primary

Tom Pappert
Courtney Johnston, Blake Harris, Kim Kaegi

Tennessee Never Trump political operators Blake Harris and Kim Kaegi are pushing Metro Nashville Councilwoman Courtney Johnston to challenge Representative Andy Ogles (R-TN-05) for his seat in the  U.S. House, multiple sources familiar with the Metro Council and Tennessee Republican politics confirmed to The Tennessee Star.

Johnston recently confirmed reports she is considering a challenge to Ogles, stating to the media, “The people of Middle Tennessee deserve better than Andy Ogles.” The councilwoman confirmed, “I am taking a very close look at the district and am talking to voters. If I run, I intend to win.”

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Possible Bankruptcy for EV Maker Fisker as Industry Hit with Declining Consumer Interest

Just the News
Fisker electric vehicle on beach with people playing

Electric-vehicle startup Fisker may file for bankruptcy as the declining pace of consumer demand weighs upon the struggling company.

In a March 15 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company warned investors that “Fisker did not make a required interest payment of approximately $8.4 million payable in cash on March 15, 2024 (the “Interest Payment”) with respect to Fisker’s unsecured 2.50% convertible notes” and that “the Company has a 30-day grace period to make the Interest Payment.”

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Biden EPA Projects Americans Wasting Billions of Dollars’ Worth of Time Charging Up EVs

Admin
EVs Charging

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is projecting that Americans could waste billions of dollars’ worth of time juicing up their electric vehicles (EVs).

As part of the Biden administration’s broader EV agenda, the EPA finalized aggressive tailpipe emissions standards on Wednesday that are designed to force manufacturers to massively increase the proportion of EVs they produce and sell. The regulatory impact analysis for that rule features estimates for costs of time spent refueling EVs over the coming decades, and the EPA is expecting that Americans will have wasted approximately $1.7 billion worth of time charging their EVs by 2055.

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DOJ Creates New Center to Help Local Officials Apply ‘Red Flag’ Laws Against Certain Gun Owners

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Merrick Garland

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Saturday the creation of a new entity to train state and local officials on procedures to apply “red flag” laws that temporarily prevent certain individuals from owning a firearm.

The National Extreme Risk Protection Order (ERPO) Resource Center is an entity created under the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) that will both educate and assist local officials when they initiate legal proceedings to obtain “red flag” orders that rescind an individual’s right to bear arms based on the belief that they pose a risk of harm to themselves or others, according to the DOJ’s press release. The individuals to be trained are “law enforcement officials, prosecutors, attorneys, judges, clinicians, victim service and social service providers, community organizations, and behavioral health professionals.”

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Over 256,000 Illegal Border Crossers in February, Highest for the Month in History

The Center Square
Illegal border crossers apprehended

The number of illegal border crossers has increased significantly since Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas implemented a range of policies he said were designed to reduce “irregular migration” and create a “legal pathway” for foreign nationals to come to the U.S.

February of this year broke a record of 256,094 total illegal border crossings nationwide, the highest for the month in U.S. history.

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College Republican Accused of ‘Bigotry’ for Asking University of Arizona Student Gov Candidate About ‘F*** ICE’Post

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Jasmine Tafolla

It is “bigotry” to ask a student candidate why she posted “F*** ICE” on her Instagram account, according to one campus leader.

Current University of Arizona student body president Alyssa Sanchez told College Republicans President Ricky Guthridge it was inappropriate for him to question a vice presidential candidate about her immigration views. ICE stands for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

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Illegal Alien, Alleged Child Rapist Charged with Federal Crimes

Peter D'Abrosca
Camilo Hurtado Campos

A former Franklin youth soccer coach has been indicted on child sex crimes and immigration crimes, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ).

“The indictment, returned yesterday by a federal grand jury, charges Camilo Campos-Hurtado, 63, with four counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, one count of receiving visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct, one count of using or possessing fraudulent immigration documents, and one count of possessing an identification document or authentication feature which was stolen or produced without lawful authority,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee said in a March 21 press release. 

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Fani Willis Claims She’s ‘Not Embarrassed’ by Disqualification Proceedings in Georgia Trump Case, Denies Damage to Reputation

Tom Pappert
Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis denied she is “embarrassed” by the disqualification proceedings against her and claimed her reputation was undamaged by the public questioning of her decision to appoint her former lover, Nathan Wade, as the special prosecutor overseeing her case against former President Donald Trump.

The district attorney delivered the remarks to CNN on Saturday while attending an Easter giveaway in Fulton County.

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Ohio Legislation Would Close State Primaries in ‘Great Step Forward’ for Election Integrity

Tom Pappert
Ohio State Rep. Beth Lear

Ohio State Representatives Beth Lear (R-Galena) and Brian Lorenz (R-Powell) are championing legislation that would close primary elections in the Buckeye State, requiring voters to cast ballots to nominate candidates corresponding to their registered political party.

Lear and Lorenz filed HB 437 in early March to require voters be registered as a member of a political party for 90 days in order to cast primary election ballots to select that party’s candidates. The legislation would prevent voters registered to the Democratic and Republican parties from casting primary election ballots in the other party’s contests.

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Virginia Democrats Launch ‘Hail Mary’ Plan to Fund Arena with Casino Revenue Despite Objections by Youngkin, Capitals and Wizards

Tom Pappert
State Senator Scott Surovell

Democrats in the Virginia General Assembly are reportedly working on plans to build a new facility for the Washington Capitals and Wizards in Fairfax County after the defeat of proposed legislation to build the arena in Alexandria.

Senate Majority Leader Scott Surovell (D-Fairfax) pitched a plan to use the money from a new casino in Fairfax County to build an arena, according to The Washington Post. Surovell’s plan reportedly has the support of the company seeking to build the casino, as well as political consultant Ben Tribbett, who the outlet reported also works for Senator L. Louise Lucas (D-Portsmouth).

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Federal Budget Includes Money for Groups Accused of Aiding Illegal Immigrants in Arizona

Tom Pappert
Catholic Community Services

The new federal budget signed by President Joe Biden on Saturday includes funding to continue providing shelter to illegal immigrants in Arizona, even as many were reducing operations or preparing to close after Republicans defeated a controversial immigration and foreign aid bill.

Lawmakers approved a $1.2 trillion budget to avoid a government shutdown despite opposition in the U.S. House, where the funding bill proposed by Speaker Mike Johnson received the support of 101 Republicans. A total of 112 Republicans and 22 Democrats voted against the spending bill in the House.

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Commentary: With RNC Shakeup, MAGA Brings Accountability to the Republican Party

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Michael Whatley and Lara Trump (composite image)

An insidious institutional rot has long afflicted the Republican Party and the broader conservative movement. Historically, this has presented a vexing problem for grassroots activists desperate to change the status quo. Now, after Herculean efforts by players big and small, it appears that the rabble-rousing of the MAGA faithful is finally paying off.

New Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Whatley and Vice Chairwoman Lara Trump have brought immediate change to the institution, working with senior Trump campaign advisor Chris LaCivita to streamline this leviathan. Whereas former RNC Chairwoman Ronna Romney-McDaniel did not make the systemic changes needed to support a modern campaign infrastructure, the new team has wasted no time taking a hatchet to overpriced, underworked, and misaligned elements of the organization.

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Kari Lake and Mark Finchem Add Cybersecurity Experts’ Testimony About Newly Discovered ‘Artificial Control’ over the Tabulation of Ballots Using Electronic Voting Machines to their SCOTUS Appeal

Rachel Alexander

Attorneys for Kari Lake and Mark Finchem filed additional pleadings last week with their Petition for Certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court, providing new evidence to their plea to the court to reconsider the lower courts’ rulings against their lawsuit to stop the use of voting machine tabulators. The new filings include a Motion to Expedite and declarations from top cybersecurity experts, who provided evidence that “overwhelmingly demonstrates” that the election results in 2020 and 2022 from Maricopa County contained “artificial control over the tabulation of ballots and the election results for the November 2020 election.” Additionally, they asserted that the county thwarted efforts to obtain the new data, which is a crime punishable by up to a year of incarceration.

The appendix to the Petitioners’ Motion to Expedite included 176 pages of new affidavits from Clay Parikh, Benjamin Cotton, and Walter Daugherity. Daugherity, who taught computer science and engineering at both the undergraduate and graduate levels for 37 years and served as a computer consultant to major firms and government agencies, including classified work, said this was his second declaration filed in the case, based on the new information from Maricopa County. That information included system log files from Maricopa County’s electronic voting tabulators in the 2020 election, and according to Parikh, “a copy of Maricopa County’s election systems database and the forensic images of the vote center tabulator memory cards used in the 2020 General Election.” 

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